The Morning Sees, But Gives Way To Night
by PhreshxxxBear
Summary: What Sai thought was perfect, was destroyed in one night. A dream that became reality was no more. The day a certain ninja returned would end it all. Sequel to The Night Dreams, But The Morning Sees. Mpreg, yaoi. SemeUke NaruSai NaruSasu one sided. Enjoy!
1. Why Does My Heart Hurt So Bad?

WELCOME TO THE SEQUEL OF The Night Dreams, But the Morning Sees! I thank all of you who supported the story and I hope that you all can enjoy the sequel as well!

For those who haven't read the prequel, I suggest you do, or you'll be sort of in the dark. Its only 10 chapters so you have no excuse for not reading it first.

I want to thank my BETA, Belletrist Word Salad, for again making it possible to post this chapter and story error free. If you ever get the opportunity, please read some of her stories. They are great! The name of this chapter was actually given to me by her, so, thank her again for that please!

Disclaimer: It's called a fan fiction for a reason. Everything in her does not belong to me, except Hoshiko and any other OCs.

Warning: There will be yaoi and mpreg in later chapters, so I give you this warning in advance.

Enjoy the story.

* * *

Why Does My Heart Feel so Bad?

Four figures cut through the thick forest at speeds almost faster than light itself. They hid deep in the shadows to mask their appearances along with their trail. They traveled in a straight line: the leader in the front, and the heftiest in the back. The woman trailed not too far from the leader and the other between her and the heft one. The lead figure doubled his pace and the others struggled to keep up with his tiresome speed.

Thought the leader's followers never quite agreed on much, they did agree that at the moment, the one in charge was being a slave driver. They panted as they hopped from branch to branch with seemed to be fruitless. The forest was so dense and everything looked alike, there was really no way to tell if you had past a new tree or one seen once or twice before.

After about another silent hour of travelling, the silver-headed one between the girl and the hefty one huffed and let out a few words for the leader.

"Can we stop soon?" he managed to speak through his dry throat. The leader seemed to growl a bit before he made a sharp right towards a clearing with a river.

~*~*~

The shark-toothed one swam happily in the water as the rest rested along the banks, minus the leader who was sat quietly on a boulder with a scowled plastered on his face. The two along the banks glanced at each other and shrugged softly before turning to watch the other make a fool of himself as he played in the water and drank like mule.

"Suigetsu, Karin, Juugo, let's move," said the scowling man after moments of waiting. Karin and Juugo both rose quietly from their seats while Suigetsu complained noisily from having to part with his precious water. After a glare from the brunet leader, he sighed and walked ruefully from the river and back over to the leader.

"Sasuke, why are we even travelling in this direction? This is the way towards the Leaf Village," Suigetsu pointed out after filling his water one last time before running back over to the leader again.

"Because," Sasuke started, "I have something I must do." The three raised their eyebrows at the man. "What do you need to do?" Juugo asked as he started to follow the now moving Sasuke. At first Sasuke seemed to have been ignoring his teammate before he said, just loud enough for everyone to hear, "I plan to restart my clan—"

"With me?!"

"—with the nine-tails."

Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu all stared in shock at the back of the man's head. Since when did he ever like the jinchuuriki? From what they had heard, he despised the boy, though the other seemed not to get the message.

"You know, I haven't heard anything about Blondie on a while. Usually there is someone from everywhere that knows of the kid and his whereabouts. There haven't been any lately. You sure he's not dead?" In a flash, the silver-headed boy found himself slammed forcefully against a tree with a strong hand clamped down on his throat.

"What was that?" Sasuke demanded as his grip grew tighter with each passing second. Suigetsu struggled to free himself from the other's grasp, but with little results. After almost a full minute of being deprived of his oxygen supply, the shark-like boy managed a small "nothing" before he fell hard into the branch below him. Karin shivered slightly before turning away from the two. Juugo simply shut his eyes and shook his head slowly.

"We leave." Sasuke stated as he returned to making his way to the Hidden Leaf. Suigetsu coughed harshly before he turned to glare at the spot Sasuke was once standing in. "Damn you Sasuke. You're never going to get you want."

* * *

Days turned to weeks turned months turned to years. It had been exactly three years since their little girl Hoshiko had been born into their family. His and Naruto's. It all sounded so nice, but it wasn't what it seemed. They've been engaged for over three years, and still there was yet to be a wedding. They lived and raised their daughter happily together, but with all the missions Naruto had to take to support them, it was like he was never there. That was how it had been for the last few months and Sai was glad when he was called into the Hokage's office that morning to receive an important mission.

~*~*~*Flashback

"Hokage-sama?" Sai asked as he walked into the office with Hoshiko sleeping quietly in his arms. She was a beautiful girl now that she had grown so much. Tsunade couldn't help but smile at the child every time she saw her.

"Yes, I've called you here to discuss with you the situation Naruto is in at the moment." Sai couldn't help but feel shocked when he heard the words fall from the Hokage's mouth. If something was wrong with Naruto, then it had to be serious.

"What is it?" He answered in a hush tone. He didn't want Hoshiko to wake up and hear them talking about her father in a delicate way.

"Calm down Sai, it's not as bad as I'm going to make it sound." Sai huffed a sigh of relief. As long as Naruto wasn't dead or battling with a fatal injury he was fine.

"Naruto shattered his wrist on the mission. He's fine now and his arm has been put in a cast, but until that heals, he going to have to stay in the village and he must not use his arm." Tsunade wanted to stress the "must not" but she had a feeling Sai was going to take this serious anyways. After all he was once upon a time an ANBU member.

"I see. Thank you for informing me Tsunade-sama."

"No problem."

~*~*~End flashback

He might have seemed concerned, and he was, but he was also happy. He was happy that he was now able to spend more time with his beloved.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Hoshiko said as she pulled on Sai's pant leg. He snapped out of his train of thought and smiled down at his little girl.

"Sure, honey. How about some lunch at Ichiraku's?" She just about squealed when she heard the name of her favorite restaurant. Sai smiled and sighed at the girl's excitement. If he and Naruto had had a bet a few years ago on what her favorite food would be, Sai would have won by if he bet on the ramen shop.

"Alright. Once you get ready, we'll leave." Hoshiko nodded furiously before rushing to her room to dress in some outdoor clothing. Sai turned to walk towards the master bedroom where he and Naruto slept. He opened his closet and pulled on a pair of casual pants and a nice t-shirt. Just as he finished finding dressing himself, Hoshiko came bursting in the room, eager to eat some ramen.

"Alright, alright. Let me brush your hair and we can leave." The magic words had Hoshiko frozen in her spot. When she wanted something, she was very obedient. Sai grabbed a brush from the dresser and snagged a quick look at himself as well before returning to the frozen girl in the middle of the room. His hair was still the same length it had been when Hoshiko was born, if not shorter. He preferred his hair this way, for it was not a bother of his neck and it was easy to put into a short pony tail.

"Done." Sai announced as he stroked the brush one last time through his daughter's thick black hair. Her bright ocean blue eyes grew wide as she ran to the front door and yelled back at Sai to hurry, though there was no reason to. Sai walked down the stairs and to the door, put on both Hoshiko's and his sandals.

"And…off we go." Sai announced as he finished putting Hoshiko's sandals on and opened the door. Hoshiko shouted "hurray" before marching out the door, Sai in tow.

~*~*~*~*~

"Ramen, ramen. Gonna eat some ramen!" The song could be heard a block away from the ramen shop. Hoshiko happily sung as she skipped carefree in front of Sai. A minute later, the two were sitting in front of the bar. Sai helped Hoshiko onto a stool and sat next to her before reading the menu to his daughter.

"Oh! I want shrimp miso please!" she exclaimed Ayame, who smiled down at her. "Sure, and you?" She asked Sai, who simply ordered some dango and water. He wasn't hungry at all, but he'd get nothing but worry from Hoshiko if he didn't eat something.

"Mommy, when I get older, I wanna work here and make yummy ramen!" Hoshiko was quite the dreamer.

"Well, you'll have to train hard to do that," he humored her. He wasn't going to tell her what to do with her life so long as she wasn't doing anything wrong. She smiled and grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the can. After she was able to work her chopsticks, she has perfected the art of ripping them perfectly apart. Naruto had been so proud of her when she had done it and Sai couldn't help but smile and roll his eyes when Naruto began to brag about how great she was at ripping chopsticks.

"Here you two go. Shrimp miso ramen and dango and water. Enjoy," Ayame said before turning to walk away. Sai slowly ate his food as Hoshiko practically swallowed her food whole. Sai kept a close eye on her. He wasn't about to let her choke on all of those noodles.

It was a nice day out to Sai. The sky was clear with only a few small clouds, the town wasn't very crowded and it was just the right temperature. Sai thought the day appeared perfect, but felt wrong somehow. Something wasn't right about this sense of misfortune. He sighed and brushed it aside, hoping internally that this feeling was nothing important.

"I'm finished," his daughter stated in a soft voice. Sai saw her empty bowl and nodded before paying for the food and beverage. Then he removed his daughter from her stool and asked her what she wanted to do next.

"Um…" she placed a finger on her chin as if she was actually giving the matter some critical thought. Sai wanted to smile, but he knew if he did it would ruin her "concentration."

"I really…" she started and Sai listened, "want to be with Daddy." Her answer took Sai by surprise, though he wasn't sure why. Naruto was always working, so she barely ever got the chance to spend some time with him. Sai realized this and smiled sadly at the girl. He motioned for her to come towards him so he could pick her up. She walked right over and jumped into his arms.

"If that is what you desire," he whispered to her and she grinned widely.

"Really? He's here?" Sai nodded turned to head in the direction of the hospital where Naruto would most likely be at the time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm fine! I don't need a fucking cast!" The blonde complained as he tried to escape the wretched white room that smelled way too sterile for his liking. The nurse huffed out a breath of annoyance as she raced to keep him in the room. "Mr. Uzumaki, Tsunade-sama will not be very happy if she returned to see you gone." Naruto flipped her off with his good hand in response to her comment. The nurse narrowed her eyes before huffing. "I don't get paid enough for this…" she complained to herself.

"Thanks for keeping him here, Seiko. You may leave now." The nurse praised to god above before practically running out of the room and back to her duties. Tsunade watched the young nurse before sighing and delivering a glare to the Kyuubi vessel before her.

"Can you stop harassing my staff for once? They're just doing their job." Tsunade said as she sat in the chair next to bed Naruto was struggling to get up from. He shook his head like a little kid that was told to clean his room when he didn't want to.

"I don't need a cast. Kyuubi's going to heal me anyway."

"Yeah, right."

Tsunade sighed before she glared at the gaki in front of her once more. "I'm sure Kyuubi would if he could, but neither you nor the fox have enough chakra to do so. So would you hold still so I can put this thing on you?" Naruto pouted, but raised his arm slightly so Tsunade could work her magic.

"There," she said as she finished placing the last wrap on his arm. Naruto lifted his arm and nodded before relaxing it in the sling. Tsunade could sense the boy in front of her was feeling sort of troubled. Being her, she smiled sadly at the boy and slapped him softly on the back of his head.

"Don't be like that. You may not be able to go on missions for a while, but at least you'll have more time with your family."

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto smiled. Being with his family always made him feel better.

"Daddy!" a flash of black jumped through the door and onto his hospital bed.

"Hey, Koko!!" Naruto hugged his daughter as she jumped into his non-casted arm. She smiled and began to mutter nonsense to him while he sat and listened, though he could understand a thing see was saying.

"Where is your mom, Hoshiko?" Naruto asked when his daughter finally took a breath from all of her talking. She pointed at the door and within seconds, Sai was walking through the door and over to Naruto and their daughter.

"Hey Sai," Naruto greeted before reaching up and delivering a kiss to his love's lips. Sai accepted to kiss and smiled down at him before muttering a soft dickless next to Naruto's ear. Naruto's face twisted up into a scowl, but Sai just smiled his painted on smile and turned to Tsunade to thank her for taking care of his idiot. Hoshiko smiled at her father and began to ask him questions about his mission, though Naruto didn't tell much.

Sai walked over to the window and gazed down at the people and places below. He felt rather disappointed and he wondered if Naruto knew why…

"I didn't forget, Sai." Sai turned to face Naruto and his eyes widened when he realized what the blonde had said. "I see…I thought you did." Sai responded. The pale boy couldn't help but smile when he returned his eyes to the window. Today was the day of the festival. The same festival where Sai tried to tell Naruto about being pregnant with Hoshiko. Though the day was nothing but a bad memory at first, they liked to remember it as something special as well.

Naruto chuckled slightly to himself. "How could I forget? I had the biggest shock of my life the day after that." Sai smiled. That was true. In fact, the blonde was shocked so much, he was in denial.

"Are we going to the festival today?" Hoshiko asked as she tore herself from her father's iron grip on her waist. Sai nodded at the little girl and sat in the chair next to the window. Though Naruto remembered the festival, this feeling of uneasiness remained in his chest. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he had to stay on guard until the day was over. It was going to be a long day, but Sai was sure he could manage.

"Mommy, can we go pick out a kimono for me?" Hoshiko said as she slipped out of Naruto's hand and into Sai's. Sai smiled down at the girl and nodded before standing and walking over to Naruto and placing a kiss on his cheek before walking through the down with his daughter in tow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"This one is pretty!" Sai's little girl exclaimed almost as loud as Naruto slurping his noodles. "Alright. We'll get this one then." Sai grabbed the dress from its place on the rack and checked for Hoshiko's size. 'Good. It'll fit.' He thought after seeing the correct size. He took Hoshiko's hand and walked to the register to pay for the item.

"Thank you for buying, sir! Have a nice day." The cashier said as both he and Hoshiko left the store. Not knowing exactly what to do next, "mother" and daughter walked aimlessly around the area. There was not much they could have been doing at the time and the festival wasn't for another few hours. Just as Sai was about to call his wandering to an end, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Sai!" Said person turned to come face to face with a strawberry blond female and a tall male sporting a bowl cut.

"Hello Sakura, Lee."

"You two getting ready for the festival?" Sakura inquired while moving to calm her overactive boyfriend. Sai nodded and asked her the same, which she replied with an affirmative response.

"I see! We should all take our youthfulness and run it into the sunset!!" Sakura shook her head and sighed before reminding Lee that it was too early for a sunset. The comment didn't destroy his vigor for he ran towards were the sunset would have been anyways.

"You have your hands full," Sai concluded as he watched the hyperactive ninja run off into a "sunset."

"You have no idea." She sighed and ran after her boyfriend, but not before waving a goodbye to both Hoshiko and him.

"Mommy, what are we going to do now?" Hoshiko asked, her eyes drooping with boredom and her body becoming restless in the wait. Out of options, Sai opted to take his angel home to start preparing for the festival.

"Let's go home." He said as he lifted his daughter and settled her on his waist before walking towards the place they called home.

~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~

"Mommy, do I look pretty?" Hoshiko asked as Sai finished tying her hair.

"You look beautiful," Sai replied while placing the final clip on her bun. "There," he said as he finished placing the clip. After stepping to view her from front to back, Sai smiled and shooed the girl away so that he himself could get ready for the night's events. They also had to stop by the hospital once again to drop off Naruto's kimono as well, so Sai had to hurry.

After a couple of minutes of struggling and sighs of frustration, the painter took one last look at himself in the mirror before leaving the bathroom and walking towards his and Naruto's to search for Naruto's outfit. It wasn't as hard as Sai had thought to locate the orange kimono in a pile of even more orange. Sai easily located the other's sandals as well. He placed all of the items he collected in a large bag waiting on his bed and walked into the living room to spot Hoshiko admiring some artwork she made on the wall.

"Are you ready 'Shiko, dear?"

"Yeah!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~

"When can I leaaavveee?" The blonde groaned. The sun was already setting and he wanted to be out there with his family, enjoying the evening's festivities. The nurse sighed for the fifth time during her brief visit and told him once more that he could leave when someone came to check him out. She was sure the blonde heard her, though he continued to gripe and complain.

"Daddy!!" Hoshiko hollered throughout the hallway. Naruto smiled and sat up from his previous position on the bed just in time catch the girl who practically flew in.

"Hey, Koko!"

"Mommy's on his way! He's out there." And as if on cue, Sai shuffled in with a bag in his hand. He quickly handed it to Naruto and motioned for him to change in the bathroom. Naruto picked up on the hint and went quickly to change.

"After Daddy is done, we will go the festival." Sai smiled down at the girl and she in return grinned twice as hard. Sai was sure the night was going to be plenty of fun, but this feeling of misfortune still remained. He wished it would go away, but he couldn't just ignore it. He'd stay on his guard and hope it was just a fluke.

"But your instinct is never wrong…" a voice inside his head warned. For once, he wished that his instinct would be.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Hoshiko asked as she raised her hands, wishing to be held. Sai smiled at her, picking her up. It was a fake smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Of course," he whispered.

"Alright, I'm ready. Let's go!" Naruto announced as he stepped out of the bathroom. Sai nodded and moved to exit the room.

"W-wait! Have you all signed out in the lobby?" The long forgotten nurse asked. Sai nodded and Hoshiko followed up with a "Yup, yup!" Naruto grinned cheekily and ran after Sai and Hoshiko who continued their course to the elevator and out of the sterile building.

"I'm so glad we could make it this year!" Naruto stretched before grabbing Sai and Hoshiko into a side embrace. Hoshiko giggled wholeheartedly and Sai smiled his infamous smile. It seemed lately that the smile that used to make Sai seem plastic was starting to make its way to the surface again. Sai tried hard not to show such a side in front of his family, but the uneasy feeling he had been getting all day made it hard not to put up the barrier again.

"Are you okay, Sai?" Naruto questioned and Sai nodded. Naruto didn't trust the response, but he didn't push it.

"Well, try to be a bit more joyous. We're going to have fun today!" Naruto smiled and Hoshiko once again followed up. Sai couldn't say no to that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The lanterns lit the night sky, coloring it a shade of orange that blended into blue. The laughter of the children and adults filled the air as they enjoyed the evening's happenings. Hoshiko laughed and ran as Naruto chased after her and won her little trinkets at the stands. Sai followed and ate the many sweet treats available to him when he could. He was happy that Naruto and Hoshiko were enjoying themselves, though he couldn't fully himself.

After almost an hour of fun, Sai decided that he had enjoyed the events enough and needed to get away for a few minutes. He walked slowly towards a stand that sold juices and other refreshments that Sai was sure he could indulge in.

"One green tea and lemon please," Sai ordered as he sat down on a stool near the bar. The place was big, bigger than most. The waitress set a cup of tea near Sai and smiled before leaving to fill someone else's order.

Sai looked up at the wall and noticed a clock. Ten twenty-three was the time. Just a few more hours, Sai thought. Only a few more before he could get rid of this menacing feeling he'd been experiencing all day.

"You seem troubled. Is something ailing you?" said the voice of a woman from beside Sai. The artist turned and smiled his faux smile. "Nothing is the matter, I just feel uneasy. It's not a big deal, really." The woman nodded before asking if he wanted to talk about it. Sai was fixing to turn the offer down when something made him agree to tell the woman. He told her his story, though only half of it, and she listened. After a few minutes of exchanging his story and explaining to her about the feeling he'd been having she nodded and took a sip of her drink.

"You should listen to what your mind is telling you. It has a funny way of telling even the blind what is right in front of them." Sai wanted to turn and tell the woman she was crazy and speaking nonsense when the feeling returned full force. The hairs on the back of his neck stood and his spine delivered a chill throughout his body. Slowly he turned toward the source. His breath hitched when he saw four figures, faces covered in mask walking past the shop. Sai was sure he would have passed it off as simply paranoia if he hadn't saw a certain set of eyes. A set of red eyes spouted with black.

The eyes of a Sharingan user.

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

* * *

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	2. I Must Be Dreaming

Hello! The second chapter of The Morning Sees, But Gives Way to Night is waiting ahead. ENjOY!! And thank Belletrist Word Salad for the BETA-ing!!

WARNING- SMEX!!

DISCLAIMER- You already know what I own, because it has never been seen in the Manga or the Anime. Anything that has been, doesn't belong to me!

* * *

I Must Be Dreaming

I Must Be Dreaming

There was darkness everywhere. Everywhere he turned; darkness. He heard voices, yet saw nothing. Just complete black. Sai ran to one side, then to another, only to find that the room was endless. There was no way out and no way in either. He tried screaming, only to discover the noise wasn't doing him any justice. There was no one around to hear him cry out. No one at all.

"You're all alone, hn?" Or so he thought he was alone. Sai turned, trying to locate the owner of the voice that hunted him in this darkness. Again, there was no one but himself in eye's sight.

"You look scared, Sai. Are you?" Whoever this stranger was, he was beginning to aggravate the artist.

"I'm not the coward here. You don't even show your face, yet you dare say I'm frightened?" The voice simply chuckled and footsteps could be heard, slowly approaching Sai like a panther stalking its prey.

"Naruto is mine. He is no longer yours. We will restore my clan and you will be left in the dark." Sai's breath hitched. "Who are you?!" is what he wanted to scream, but his voice nor the words could be found. Sai could do nothing but stare aimlessly into the blankness of the chamber. Who was this person who was trying to destroy him? Slender arms wrapped around the artist from behind, leaving him clueless as to who was holding him. Warm breath came to a stop near his ear as whispers fell from the stranger's lips.

"You'll be forgotten, as soon as I reclaim my rightful place. Because as far as you're concerned, you are just my replacement."

~*~*~

Sai shot up from where he laid and struggled to catch his ragged breath. He looked to his left, then to his right and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw nothing but familiar furniture and two doors. He was home, somehow. He wasn't sure who or when he arrived, but he was just grateful to be there.

With one final deep breath, Sai pulled back the covers of his bed and walked into the bathroom connected to his room. He splashed his face with some cold water to help shake the tired feeling from his body.

Sai's head remained hanging over the sink and staring into the running water long after he finished waking himself up, the dream he experienced not too long ago still felt fresh in his mind. If that nightly vision was meant to scare the daylights out of the painter and ex-ANBU, then it had done its job and then some. There was no word in the dictionary that could describe how unbelievably frightened and confused Sai was.

Thinking on it was futile, though. What had happened, happened and Sai needed to move on. The painter turned the cold water off and resumed the rest of his typical morning routine: showering, brushing his teeth and dressing. After finishing the first part of his schedule, Sai walked down the stairs of his home and to the kitchen where he began to make breakfast for his soon-to-be-waking family.

"Mommy?" Sai heard soon after he finished setting the table and turned off all of the burners on the oven. Sai raised his eyebrows as a signal for her to continue asking her question. Hoshiko sat in her usual spot and then opened her mouth to speak.

"Are you okay?" She asked and Sai raised his eyebrows again, this time as a signal for her to elaborate her question.

"Me and daddy saw you on the ground yesterday after you left. Daddy said you fainted for some reason." Sai nearly dropped the glass of juice he was holding when she said so. He had fainted? When and why, he wondered. It wasn't until he saw the red and black night gown Hoshiko was wearing that he remembered why he had ended up in such a predicament. I saw Sasuke at the festival.

"It's nothing, dear. I was simply tired. It's nothing to worry about," Sai lied through his teeth. Or rather, lied through his phony smile. Hoshiko nodded and rubbed her tired eyes. Sai was glad she was young and couldn't tell a genuine smile from one that was forged. If she could, Sai would have never gotten away with most of the things he had told her.

"Here, eat your breakfast. Where's your father?" Sai asked as he placed a plate full of food in front of Hoshiko. She took a bit, then looked up at Sai before replying, "The Hokage wanted him so the ninja in mask came and took him. I saw it." Sai's hand froze midway to his mouth and he dropped the pair of chopsticks he was using. Hoshiko was not a liar and whatever she said was true.

"D-did they say why?" Sai stuttered. He couldn't hide his worry for the blond jinchuuriki. His daughter was not an observer like he was and didn't make note of his stuttering. "No, they said something like 'this is what you've been waiting for' then left."

Sai first thought was that Naruto had been promoted to Hokage, but he knew that couldn't have been it. Naruto hadn't even accomplished jounin level yet, so Hokage was still a bit out of reach.

"Oh, I see," Sai looked down at his food before returning his gaze to his daughter. "Please finish your food." The girl nodded and happily ate the remainder of her breakfast.

Just what is going on, Naruto? Why does it feel as if I'm being left in the dark?

~*~*~*~*~

"Ow, ow, ow!!" The voice of the number one loudmouth ninja could be heard from the office where Tsunade waited patiently to the entrance of the building the office resided in. The ANBU escorted the noisy blonde to the office with much trouble. Naruto kept struggling, obviously trying to escape for some unknown reason.

"Naruto, stop giving them a hard time. First my hospital staff, now my ANBU. Sheesh!!" Naruto smiled sheepishly before attempting to scratch his head, only to realize he was still being confined. His smile disappeared and he began to yell again, giving Tsunade a headache.

"Well, tell your boys to stop holding me! I'm here now and I'm not going to escape!" Tsunade sighed before waving the ANBU off. I'm getting too old for this, she thought as she a sip of her tea that Shizune insisted she drink instead of sake.

"What did you want anyway, Baa-chan?" Naruto asked as he cleaned his ear out with his pinky. Tsunade felt a vein begin to throb on her forehead when the words left Naruto's mouth. She slowly counted to ten before leaning back in her chair.

"There is something I want to show you. Or should I say someone." Naruto raised an eyebrow, not truly sure what Tsunade was trying to say to him. The Hokage smirked before giving the command for someone to come in. Naruto turned to look at the door and saw a familiar figure walk through, followed by a few others that were not so memorable.

"Hello, Naruto."

~*~*~*~*~

Sai trailed down the path to a house he was accustomed to walking to, especially recently since Hoshiko was always in need of babysitting. The painter held on tight to the girl in his arms as he continued to walk past people and shops of the town.

After a few more minutes of walking, Sai came to a stop at the door of a rather large apartment. He knocked once then waited unwearyingly until a recognizable face opened the entrance.

"Hello, Sai," Yamato greeted casually. Sai greeted him back before shifting a half-asleep Hoshiko into Yamato's arms. "Thank you for watching her, sempai." Yamato nodded and took the sleeping girl graciously from Sai along with a bag of spare clothes and toys for Hoshiko.

"So what is it this time?" Yamato asked as he moved to place the slumbering girl on the couch with a thin blanket he had set out prior to opening the door.

"I'm not sure, but Tsunade-sama asked me to come to her office, so that's where I am headed." Yamato nodded before sitting on a stool he made himself. "Well, better not keep her waiting." Sai nodded in agreement before turning to leave the house. "Take care," Yamato yelled after him softly so he didn't wake the hyperactive mini-Naruto. Sai raised his hand to show that he heard the man's sentiment.

Yamato sighed severely, then he turned to look at the young spawn of one of the most dramatic and the emotionally retarded ninja. She could be a ball of unpredictable energies at times and Yamato was almost sure she knew it too. She could also be a pain at times, but Yamato was sure it could also be worse at times.

Then something hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Sai never told me how long you'd be staying. Great."

~*~*~*~*~

Naruto stood frozen in his spot. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. There stood the man he been chasing for years, right before him, in the flesh. He wasn't sure how he should be feeling. Anger because the man was here when he should have been along all, or happy because he was finally back. Or maybe even a bit of sadness, because he was sure long forgotten emotions would be on the rise.

"Well, aren't you happy to see me, dobe?" Naruto was lost for words. He wasn't sure how to reply to such a question. It didn't seem he had to either.

"You called for me, Hokage-sama?" There stood Sai in the open doorway. Tension flew into the room like air through a window. Sai stood frozen before the man who possessed the Sharingan. He knew that if he wasn't trained to hold his emotions, he'd have an emotion and mental break down at that moment.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun. A pleasure to see you again." Sai bowed slightly and turned to walk closer to the Hokage's desk. Naruto watched Sai perform his act and felt somewhat saddened by the return of his faux emotions. He could tell Sai was burdened enough as it was with their constant separation due to missions, but now he must have felt really troubled because now that Sasuke was back, he was just a replacement again…or so he thought.

"Sai, Naruto, Sasuke. Welcome. I have summoned you here today for a reason," Tsunade started, a serious look plastered on her face.

"Well, duh…"

"Watch it, brat!"

"Sorry baa-chan."

"As you can clearly see, the Uchiha here has finally decided to return to Konoha and he's brought some friends too." Both Naruto and Sai turned towards the other three occupants in the room. One looked somewhat muscular, but quiet and removed. Another was female with glasses and the last had teeth like a shark.

"Sorry Tsunade-shisou, I came as quickly as I could but I was doing surgery!" Sakura busted into the room panting from having to run from the hospital to the Hokage office.

"You could have used a jutsu…" Naruto pointed out, which earned him a punch to the gut from the doubled over Kunoichi.

"Sakura, hn?" Sakura's head snapped up at hearing the voice. Her eyes went as wide as saucers when she saw the man she used to fantasize of right there in the room.

"S-Sasuke?" She stuttered. She could believe it. As to make complete sure it wasn't a dream she was having, she walked out of the room and reentered a moment later to see the former missing-nin was still there.

"Holy shit!" She exclaimed before a smiled graced her face. "It really is you!" She laughed. Both Naruto and Sai exchanged looks before walking calmly over to the strawberry blonde in the room. They both grabbed her arms before she could charge at Sasuke beat him to his death.

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!! HOW DARE YOU LEAVE THIS VILLAGE FOR 6 YEARS THEN DECIDE TO WALTZ RIGHT BACK IN HERE LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED YOU LITTLE SHIT!? DO YOU KNOW ALL OF THE SHIT YOU PUT BOTH NARUTO AND ME THROUGH?! Y-you little…f-fucker…" Her rampage ended with an emotional breakdown. She fell hard to her knees and her bangs flowed over her downcast face.

"Why are you even here? A year or two ago, I would've been glad to see you, but it's a little too late now, don't you think?" Sakura looked up at Sasuke with teary red eyes. "Don't you think that it's a bit too late to walk in here and expect us to automatically forgive your sins? Kami may, but I know I won't be won over that easily." She stood shakily and staggered over to Tsunade's desk before slamming her fist down on the wooden structure.

"What are you doing Tsunade?! Why is he here instead of in some dungeon?!" The vein on Tsunade's forehead looked dangerously close to popping when she looked up at Sakura with dark hazel eyes.

"Sakura, I suggest you contain yourself before I do it for you. Sit," She pointed to a chair somewhere off to the side of the room. Sakura looked as if she were going to protest when Tsunade gripped around her tea cup increase, causing it to crack. Reluctantly, the pink-haired kunoichi went over the chair and sat, though her murderous gaze never left the one called a traitor.

"Someone's PMS-ing." Suigetsu's voice interrupted from the background. Sasuke turned to glare the shark boy, but Suigetsu shrugged the look off. Karin started to nag at the silver-headed boy, and yet again, it proved useless. Juugo simply stared out the window at the birds that started to gather on the sill.

"Whoa, look at the crowd." The masked jounin said, breaking the silence that had erupted in the room. He sat perched outside the Hokage tower's window. All eyes, excluding Tsunade's, turned to look at the eavesdropping copy ninja.

"Kakashi, you're late…" Tsunade murmured. Kakashi didn't bother making up an excuse as to why this time. He jumped off the sill and into the room, all while placing his favorite Icha-Icha Paradise book back in its pouch.

"Now that all the interruptions are gone and everyone is here, I can explain why I have summoned you all here today and why Uchiha and crew are here also." Everyone became suddenly became attentive.

"Today at five forty two a.m., Sasuke and his gang—"

"We have names…"

"—were spotted near the entrance of Konoha. After bring them into custody, we discovered that we could not arrest them for any sort of crime other than entering without a formal note of identification. Yes, I am aware that they are missing ninja, but they have done more good for the village than they have done bad. One would be getting rid of both Orochimaru and some members of the Akatsuki. The good they have done cancels out the bad, but we cannot leave them unpunished. I've decided that they are to be placed under one month's house arrest and community service for three following the house arrest. Also, should they apply for the right to be ninjas in this village; they are not to go above the status chunin, jounin if I deem them worthy."

It took the group a few moments to absorb the information given to them. Sai was the first to snap out of the daze.

"So, why is it that you only call on us?" Tsunade smirked.

"Sharp as ever, eh Sai?" Sai didn't comment back. "Since you all, excluding Sai, have been part of Team 7 which Sasuke belonged to, I want you all to watch over these four as they go through their month of house arrest. Each member of, Taka, was it? Each member will be placed in separate housing facilities. Team Kakashi, which includes Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto and Sai, will rotate watching Taka until the month is over. How and when the rotation will go will be up to the members of Team Kakashi. Is everything understood?" Tsunade looked left and then right and waited for any objection, which there wasn't.

"Alright then. ANBU, please escort the prisoners to their cells!" Tsunade yelled enthusiastically.

"Hokage-sama, they aren't going to jail, you know?" One of the ANBU spoke up. Tsunade waved it off and muttered an "I know I know. Just having some fun…" before she called for Shizune to get her some sake.

"Make that two," Suigetsu tried only to get a fist flown in his direction by Karin. "Why can't you ever be serious?! Why can't you be like Sasuke-kun?" She squealed the boys name in adoration. It made everyone in the room shudder, even Sakura. After the members of Taka left the building, Sakura turned to her teammates and asked them a question.

"Is that how I used to sound?" Everyone in the room, excluding Sai, sweat-dropped.

"Yes!" the practically shouted simultaneously. Sakura smiled sheepishly.

"I can see why I was considered annoying…"

~*~*~*~

After leaving the office, Team Kakashi decided to discuss the current situation over lunch. Sai left a little early to pick up Hoshiko from Yamato's house. The remaining three headed to the Yakiniku Q's to start working out a schedule and other plans.

"So, I suggest we switch every week, that way each of us looks after one only once that month. What do you think?" Kakashi was the first to speak. Naruto insisted that he didn't mind, so long as it was no longer than that. Sakura, still slightly angered from her emotional storm, hadn't said a word since arriving. Kakashi sighed and leaned back in his seat. This was obviously going nowhere.

"Hoshiko, please calm down." Sai's voice could be heard from the entrance to the table were the rest of the team sat. Hoshiko jumped up and down beside Sai while he told the waitress that he was with the group at table six. She nodded and watched carefully as he made his way over with a hyper three-year-old pulling him.

"Sorry for being late," he apologized. Kakashi nodded and waved it off as not a problem. Hoshiko crawled under the table and submerged in Naruto's lap. Naruto smiled at the girl and stroked her head softly.

"Daddy, 'Mato-sensei teached me something cool!" Hoshiko exclaimed loudly. Sai shushed the girl, but she only lowered her voice a fraction of what Sai would have liked.

"The word is 'taught', Hoshiko. And what did he teach you?" Hoshiko closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Hoshiko, what are you do—" Sai cut off when he saw a leaf sprout from the edge of the table. The adults looked at each other than over at Hoshiko who grinned cutely.

"Wow, Hoshiko! That's really cool!" Sakura offered. Kakashi nodded and even gave her a little round of applause. Naruto eyes widened before began to praise his daughter and brag about how much of a young prodigy she was becoming. Sai, unfortunately, wasn't too happy about her newfound skill. He hid it well behind a smile, but he was vaguely disappointed that she was learning about her chakra, for he didn't want his baby girl to become a ninja.

Sai smiled though, and praised his little girl anyway. "That is very nice, Hoshiko."

"Sai, we have decided that we'd each spend one week at the member's places. Is that alright with you?" Sai nodded at the jounin's solution. If that was what they were to do, then the only thing left to discuss was who was going to who's first.

"So, who is watching who?" Sai asked.

"Anyone but Sasuke first is fine with me!" Sakura quickly threw out there. The rest agreed.

"Well, Sakura can go with the bigger one. Juugo I think was his name," Kakashi stated. Sakura nodded.

"How about you, Sai? Do you have a preference?" Kakashi asked. "No." Was Sai's simple answer. "Then you can go with the girl, no?" Sai nodded his response and stole one of Sakura's dango. She glared at him but did nothing further.

"And you, Naruto?" Naruto shrugged. "Then go with Sasuke." Sai wanted to protest to the command given to Naruto, but he couldn't find it in him to speak up. Damn Danzo and ROOT for their strict order!

"That leaves me with shark boy." The table all made sounds of approval.

"Then it is settled. We start tomorrow, so be prepared!" Kakashi smiled behind his mask before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hoshiko looked at her parents and Sakura in confusion.

"What the heck are you talking 'bout?" Hoshiko insisted, her hands went to her hip and she pressed her lips into a thin line. She meant business, but her childish looks and age made her look a little to adorable to be taken seriously.

"You might be spending some time with Uncle Iruka for a while." Was Naruto's response.

"Really!?" She yelled in excitement. Sai again shushed the girl. Naruto nodded with a grin plastered on his face.

"Awesome!" she yelled as practically jumped over the table and into Sai's arms. Sai sighed. The girl had too much energy.

~*~*~*~*~

The luncheon ended when Sakura remembered that she had to return to the hospital. The staff wasn't too happy when she returned almost an hour after she left.

Naruto, Sai, and Hoshiko all headed home after the late lunch. Hoshiko went to the living room to paint while both Naruto and Sai went upstairs. Sai decided to brush his teeth since he just returned from eating.

Naruto entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Sai didn't question him because he walked straight to the shower and turned it on. Assuming Naruto wanted to shower; Sai prepared to leave when his blond lover grabbed him and held him to his position in front of the sink.

"Naruto, what are you—" Naruto wrapped his arms around Sai's torso and settled his chin on the other's shoulder. "We haven't done it in a while," Naruto purred in Sai's ear. Sai felt his body grow warm at the intimacy.

"Naruto, what about Hoshiko?" Sai questioned and suppressed a moan as Naruto nipped at his neck. "She busy painting. 'Sides, the shower's going. As long as you don't louder than it, we're fine." Naruto slide his hand up Sai's shirt and began playing with his round nipples. Sai moaned and closed his eyes. "Look at the mirror…" Naruto commanded and Sai complied. Sai opened his eyes and stared straight at himself. He looked needy and Naruto looked happy to fulfill that need.

"N-Naruto, stop teasing…please." Sai pleaded. He wanted it now and he'd be damn if he had to wait. Naruto chuckled at the request. "As you wish." The jinchuuriki unbuttoned Sai's pants and slipped them off, along with his briefs. He grabbed the painter and began to stroke him while divesting himself of any unnecessary clothing. Naruto reached to the side and grabbed the lube inside of the drawer in the sink.

"Ready?" He asked his lover. Sai nodded eagerly. Naruto smirked before adding lube to both his figures and his member. He pushed his middle figure into Sai's opening first, causing the older man to moan and clench the edges of the sink for support. He added another, then one last one when he finished preparing him with the seconds.

"Please, Naruto…" Sai begged. Naruto removed his finger and leaned forward to replace it with his manhood. Sai moaned loudly as Naruto entered. The latter lifted Sai's right leg for better and deeper access. The two moaned in ecstasy as they continued their ministrations for a few more moments before they came close to their release. Sai moaned, warning Naruto that he couldn't hold much longer. Naruto sped up his action until they both spilled loudly.

It took a few moments for them both to finish catching their breaths. Sai looked up at his face in the mirror that he had stopped staring at sometime during their activities. "Now we really need that shower." Naruto couldn't help but laugh at Sai's comment. Sai smiled and playfully pushed him. "Come on. Let's hurry before the water starts to run cold."

~*~*~*~*~

The shower had been relaxing for the two. After cleaning, Sai decide to lie in bed while Naruto got Hoshiko cleaned to go to sleep. Sai turned his head to the right and look out the window. The sky was beautiful shade of blue. Sai couldn't help but smile when he saw a star peak out from behind a cloud.

"Beautiful…" he murmured. The painter closed his eyes and relaxed into the sheets before a noise startled him into opening his eyes. There, at his window, was a figure, a human figure with eyes as red as blood. Sai's breath caught in his throat when he realized who the figure was. Sasuke…Sai closed his black orbs for a mere second the figure was gone, but the shock remained.

"Wha…?" He started but gave up as he leaned back and placed a pillow over his head. I must have stayed under the shower too long. The stream's messing with my head.

"I must be dreaming." He concluded and decided to let his obviously tired body rest.

"You're just a replacement…" a voice erupted in his mind. Sai's eyes snapped open and he throw the pillow from his face, yet he saw nothing. Sai felt his heart race suddenly. Oh Kami…

"Please…I have to be dreaming."

* * *

_**PLEASE REVIEW!!! PLEASE REVIEW!!! PLEASE REVIEW!!! **_I can't ask you enough! I DO love the story alerts and the favorite story! **BUT** I love reviews all the same. When you review, it makes me want to write even more!! Even if you just say, "nice chapter", I love to hear it!

So once more I say _**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**_ For me?


	3. Is It Like This,When a Heart Ache Begins

Oh my goodness! I know that it has been forever since I've update…but honestly, things have been very busy for both me and my BETA! No excuses except school for me and I can only guess the same for Belletrist.

Here it is Chapter 3 and the first chapter of the New Year.

AND sorry that the chapter is short!! It will be longer next time but it may take a while because my laptop is in the shop getting repair and the desktop isn't working. I'm on my dad's laptop and he uses it a lot for school so… you know.

* * *

The morning had been hectic and the fact that his mission started today wasn't making it any better. Sai rustle through stacks and piles of clothes and toiletries to pack for Hoshiko's stay at Iruka's while he struggle to pack for himself and perform his morning duties, like cooking. Naruto was also having a hard time cleaning the house for the long absence, but his job didn't prove to be quite as difficult as Sai's.

After checking off all the items on Hoshiko's checklist, he scampered to start breakfast and ready himself for the day ahead.

"Hoshiko, stop lying around and get dressed. I don't have time this morning to deal with this." Sai shouted as he passed her room only to find her lying half asleep on her bed. She moaned in frustration and lazily lifted her three-year-old body from her bed and over the clothes that had been set out by Sai not too long ago.

Sai frowned and ran down the stairs when he remembered the food that was now sizzling on the stovetop. He carefully dumped the content of the skillets and pans onto three plates and ran upstairs to take a brief shower. After climbing out of the five minute shower, he quickly combed through his hair, brushed his teeth and got dressed before joining Hoshiko and Naruto at the table.

"Busy, aren't we?" Naruto questioned as he poured Sai a glass of orange juice. Sai answered the question with a look that said, "What does it look like?" Naruto chuckled briefly before digging onto his meal. Hoshiko, with a pout still on her face, ate slowly and glared at everything that moved. Sai mentally shook his head at the girl's attitude. She was as shifty with her emotions as a stray dog.

The family hurried and finished their breakfast before setting out, first to Iruka's and then to their assigned destinations. Hoshiko put up a fit when Sai told her she would be there for almost a month. It took almost ten minutes to calm her enough to leave. After the good-byes, Sai and Naruto headed their separate ways, neither of them looking forward to their assignment.

"It's going to be one hell of a day…" Naruto sighed, not knowing how right he was…

~*~*~*~*~*~

Naruto treaded slowly to the Uchiha manse. So long had it been since a soul had set foot in what could now be called a poor excuse of a building. The demon holder wondered why the Council and Tsunade chose such a place to house the last Uchiha. It must have brought back bad memories when the raven set foot in the place. But Naruto supposed it didn't matter at this point. His mission was to make sure the Uchiha didn't commit any crimes or break the rules of his house arrest. Nothing more, nothing less.

Naruto opened the rusted gates of the old and fairly unkempt outside of the mansion. It didn't take him long to spot an ANBU member watching the house from the outside. The ANBU must have spotted him too because he gave the blonde a nod of acknowledgment and disappeared. His duty was obviously to wait for Naruto before returning to his normal and rightful duties.

After a few more moments of walking, he approached and knocked on the wood of the front door and waited for a reply from the one inside. The door opened almost immediately to reveal a very smug-looking Sasuke.

"Naruto, eh?" The smirk on the Uchiha bastard's face almost made Naruto think he was happy to see him at his front step. Almost was the key word.

"Eh, let me in so I can do my mission." Naruto hurried out. It was awkward standing before his childhood friend and crush after he'd been missing and marked as such for six years. Sasuke stepped aside and let Naruto in.

"Alright, I have to tell you the rules before we can do anything else. One, all door must remain open at all times. No privacy is allowed. Two, you are not allowed outside without my permission and supervision. Three, you're not allowed to hold sharp objects without my permission and/or supervision and four, that," Naruto pointed at the detector on Sasuke's ankle, "is not to come off for any reason. You got that, Sasuke?" Naruto explained and questioned to the Uchiha before him. Sasuke was certainly surprised to hear Naruto speak so many intelligent-sounding words. He had always thought Naruto was an idiot.

"Wow, didn't know you had so many words in you vocabulary, dobe."

"Shut up, teme!" Naruto didn't admit that he wasn't the one to write the rules. Tsunade had and he was just the messenger.

"So, since I'm here, what do we do?" Naruto asked after a moment of awkward silence. Sasuke thought then smirked when it finally dawned on him, Naruto and I are here…alone! This is my chance…

"Na-ru-to…" Sasuke voiced seductively as he slowly approached the blonde that was now sitting on the recliner near the door. Naruto turned to the Uchiha and nearly gagged when he saw the way he was being approached. Naruto had to admit, Sasuke was sort of sexy, but he wasn't the apple of his eye. Not anymore.

"What are you doing?" Naruto questioned. Sasuke treaded right up to Naruto and sat in his lap. Naruto's eyebrows rose when the raven came to sit upon his thigh, but said nothing. The Uchiha took this as a sign to continue and leaned forward to whisper in the blonde's ear.

"Naruto, I know you used to like me…" He started. He placed his hands on Naruto's thigh and moved closer to the warmth of the jinchuuriki's body. Naruto remained impassive to the other's actions and didn't move to push him away or pull him closer.

"Why don't you and I get together…you know what I mean, right?" And Naruto did know what the other meant, but he was no fool.

"Sasuke, get off." He ordered in a soft but strict tone. The Uchiha pulled away from the other's face, but remained sitting in his lap.

"Why? I know you like me, dobe, so why can't you accept what I'm giving you?" Sasuke was becoming furious already. Naruto shook his head and began to correct the raven.

"I did like you once, yes, but now I don't. I'm getting married to someone soon, and it's not you Sasuke." Naruto's response shocked Sasuke into backing off the blonde's lap. Naruto proceeded to raise from the chair and help the shocked Uchiha up from the floor.

"Sasuke, I'm with Sai—"

"That pansy?!"

"He's not a pansy," Naruto snapped at the insult hurled at his fiancé. "He is a member of team Kakashi and who I love. We have a beautiful daughter together and we're a family. I won't give that up for the world." Naruto stopped his speech and sat back down in the chair. Slowly, he brought his face down to his palms. The blonde shook his head before lifted it to look at the Uchiha standing before him, shock and dismay written all over his face.

"There was a time when I would have given the world for you Sasuke. But when you left that day…when you ran right out of my life and even endangered it, I couldn't help but feel that there was no longer a connection. Our bond was cracking. And slowly, it broke." Naruto rose from his seat and walked calmly over to the other man in the room. "Sasuke, I loved you. But now, it's just not possible."

Naruto walked off after patting Sasuke's shoulder in attempted consolation. Sasuke numbly watched the other leave and glared in the direction long after he was out of sight.

"I'll make it possible."

~*~*~*~*~

"Teme, get off your lazy ass and help me!" Naruto complained as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Both he and Sasuke had begun to clean up the property in the days after he rejected the Sharingan user. But since then, it seemed like he was the only one actually doing anything.

"You're the one who decided to do this…" Sasuke pointed out and leaned on the rack in his hands. Naruto glared and sneered at the other. "Yeah, but, this is your house," Naruto countered. Sasuke sighed and began to work listlessly. Naruto didn't mind the boy's slow actions though, he was just happy he was moving at all.

The two worked quietly side by side for another hour before they both became exhausted, Naruto more than Sasuke. Sasuke helped the blonde to his feet after his limbs refused to move. He supported Naruto to the couch then threw the heavy body onto the large chair. Inwardly, the Uchiha smirked at the opportunity presented to him. Naruto was exhausted and delirious from the heat; he wouldn't know what hit him if Sasuke decided to take advantage of him now!

"You look like you're dehydrated, dobe; I'll get you some water before you die on my couch." He hid his excitement well as he went to fetched Naruto's water. We walked to the kitchen and filled the glass then set it down before he began rummaging through all of the drawers, trying to find a special ingredient that he was sure would "wake up" the blonde.

"Finally," he muttered to himself as he popped the lid off of a tiny glass bottle that contained rather large powdery looking pills. The Uchiha let his smirk show as he crushed the pill and placed it into the idle glass of water and watched it dissolve almost instantly. His plan, so far, was working smoothly. Sasuke now had to make sure Naruto actually drank his little concoction before he went into phase two.

"Here, dobe. Drink up." Sasuke spoke as he walked back into the living room and handed the glass of water to Naruto, who almost spilled while trying to bring the water to his lips. Sasuke watch in anticipation, his eyes burning with it as he watched the scene unfold. With each passing gulp the blonde took, the smell of victory became stronger in Sasuke's nose.

"Ah, that was refreshing!" Naruto exclaimed after recovering from consuming the entire glass in less than thirty seconds. "Great to know, dobe. I'm tired so, I'm going to bed."

"Um, ok."

Sasuke turned to retreat from the room and smiled as he walked through the house and to his bedroom. Once there, he made a series of hand signs and popped out a clone which took its place in the bed. Sasuke then proceeded to make another hand sign which transformed himself into Naruto's so-called love interest. Sai.

~*~*~*~*~

"Man, Sasuke's so moody. One moment he's mad, then concerned, then blah!" Naruto shook his train of thought out. There was no point complaining about it. It was a mission and in the end, it was going to get done.

"Man, it's getting hot!" Naruto exclaimed as began to fan himself; he contemplated taking his shirt off to help soothe the overbearing warmth. More importantly, he wondered why he was suddenly feeling this way.

He didn't have much time to ponder on the subject; there was a knock on the door before he could even try. "I guess I have to get that…" he sighed when he realized that Sasuke was still asleep.

"Coming!" He yelled across the house and ran to the source of the noise. As soon as he was there he opened the door and was shocked to see his fiancé Sai standing before him.

"S-Sai! What are you doing here?" Sai waved his hand, disregarding the question before sidestepping Naruto and entering the house. Naruto eyebrows rose as he watched Sai wander deeper into the home. "Is there something you needed, Sai?" He asked as he began to follow Sai, who seemed to be heading in the direction of the bathroom. "Sai?" Once again, there was no reply from his lover. The blonde began to hear rummaging through the draws in the bathroom as soon as he turned the corner.

"What are you doing Sai?" Naruto entered the bathroom and watched as Sai lifted up a bottle of lube and smile. Naruto felt as if he should have run, but couldn't get his legs to obey him. "Naruto, I want you." Sai muttered after eying Naruto for a moment of two. Naruto only returned the request with a confused glance and a breathy gasp when he felt himself grow hard at Sai's words.

"W-what's with y-you Sai?" And for that matter, what's with me? The blonde tried to question, but was ignored when the painter approached him and began to press their bodies close together.

"Please, take me." Sai whispered against Naruto's lips. Naruto couldn't help but feel the temperature rise. And he couldn't help but feel himself growing harder and harder as each moment passed.

'What's wrong with me?'

"Naruto," Sai whimpered a little too affectionately for Naruto.

"Please."

'Damn, I can't take it. I have to do this…'

"Alright. But the teme's sleeping, so keep it down."

~*~*~*~*~

Sai sat worried, wondering what Naruto was doing. He knew he could trust his lover, but something about Sasuke and Naruto being together without his supervision made him nervous. He couldn't trust Sasuke; he didn't think he ever would be able to either.

"Hey! Pay attention!" the voice of the annoying redhead nagged. Sai snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the girl. He smiled, but oh, how he wanted to flip her off.

"Like I was saying, Sasuke-kun is going to end up with me!"

Keep dreaming. "Is that so?" Sai humored Karin since he hadn't a thing better to do. He also needed his mind to be cleared. Thinking about it wouldn't help anything.

"Yes it is so…" She sighed dreamingly. "Well, good luck." Sai added. She huffed at his sarcasm, but said not another word.

I really just hope nothing happens, Naruto. I can't lose you.

~*~*~*~*~

"Pathetic," Sasuke uttered as he rose from the couch were he and Naruto had "fallen asleep." The blonde slumbered soundly and the Uchiha simply watched in victory. He had accomplished his first goal. Now all he had to do was get that trash out of the way.

"You always were an usuratonkachi, dobe." Sasuke muttered as he began to walk to his room and in the shower. He had to rid himself of any evidence of their activities or the jinchuuriki would notice that the Sai he saw, wasn't he Sai he knew.

The clone lying where Sasuke should have been disappeared as the original walked into the room and over to the connected bathroom. The raven turned the water on hot and entered as soon as it was adjusted to his liking. He washed carefully around his thighs, stomach and all the area between. He knew for a fact that Naruto had a good sense of smell because of the Kyuubi.

"But, Naruto is such an idiot; he won't find out about the switch." That's what Sasuke kept repeating to himself and that is what kept him hoping.

Hoped, because phase two of his first goal wasn't complete yet.

~*~*~*~

3 weeks later

~*~*~*~

Sai wanted to shoot himself. Or rather, stab himself with a kunai. His week to watch over Sasuke had come and he (obviously) wasn't looking forward to it one bit.

The artist walked the dark and dreary path to the Uchiha's. He didn't have a choice on whether or not he wanted to be there; it was a mission after all. But if he had had a choice in the matter, he would've had both Naruto and himself withdrawn from this hellhole of a mission without a second thought. Anything that involved Sasuke couldn't have been good.

After following the foreign path for a good ten minutes, Sai arrived at the home of the Uchiha. He knocked only once. He was sure Sasuke could sense his chakra long before he even set foot on the property.

"Well. Hello, Sai." Sasuke greeted as he opened the door. Sai narrowed his eyes though his fake smile remained. He wanted to throw an insult at the Uchiha for the way he spat out his name like it was poison on his tongue.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun."

"Well, come in, I'm sure you'd like to start your mission soon." Sasuke smirked at his own comment. Sai simply smiled and walked into the house, regretting the decision already.

"So, how are things between you and Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he set a tray of tea down on the table. Sai grabbed a cup and sipped the content before replying "fine," to the other's question.

Sasuke nodded and also grabbed a cup of tea as he leaned back in his chair. "I see."Sasuke said with a smirk looming behind his cup. Sai ignored Sasuke's tone and turned to take in the décor in the house. It was simple and, surprisingly, too bland for Sai's taste. His moment of "admiring" was cut off when Sasuke started to address him, not that he was interested.

"So, I'm guessing Naruto didn't tell you." Sai's eyebrow rose. Sasuke took it as a hint to continue. "Well, he and I have been… seeing each other for awhile." Sai almost laughed at the Uchiha's claim. "Nice try, Sasuke-kun, but how can I trust you? And why would I?" Sai smiled hard. He wasn't going to fall for Sasuke's dirty trick. Of course, Sasuke wasn't about to give up either.

"Laugh all you want, Sai, but ask yourself: how I would know about his mole, right under his 5th rib?"

Almost immediately, Sai's smile disappeared and his eyes became the size of saucers. "How do you know about that?" He whispered his voice quiet and laced with denial.

"How else would I have known about it, Sai?" Sai shook his head. He didn't believe anything he was hearing. But then again…

"Then again, Naruto does walk around shirtless very often…" Sai wondered out loud. Sasuke's smirk disappeared. How was he supposed to convince Sai that Naruto was his now?

"You don't have to believe me, but I guarantee you will when the baby comes."

"What?"

"You heard me well, Sai." He had heard him well. Too well. "W-wha…?" Sai couldn't process any of this information. If Sasuke was telling the truth about being pregnant, then the child had to be Naruto's. Only a jinchuuriki was capable of impregnating another male.

No! It couldn't be true! It just couldn't!

Sai's head pounded before everything went black.

* * *

THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE AND WILL UPDATE!!!


	4. I Can Face The Truth

HEY GUYS!! I'm here with another chapter!! More drama!! WOOT! Say thanks to Belletrist for getting this back to me in the speed of light. We both had snow days today. Me, all this week. Delaware is REALLY taking a pounding. It hasn't been this bad since '03. We'll anyway, you didn't come here to hear me blab about snow and life. So without further ado…

* * *

The things he had done for that man. The sacrifices that he made, the pain he had suffered…what was it all for? It seemed to him that whenever things seemed as if they would become better, they just became worse. And why was the only question he could ask. Why?

Why?

But no matter how much he asked himself, he could never come up with a reason. He once thought it was love. The word had fit into the puzzle so perfectly. The picture seemed to have been clear. But where Sai was mistaken was where he was in this picture made by this puzzle. The place where his head used to lie was really for the face of someone else. Uchiha.

Uchiha.

The name was like acid on his tongue. And when it was mentioned, it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Horrendous. But what made Sai cringed the most, was what Uchiha was doing to him. Him… and his lover Naruto.

Lover? What a funny thing to call the man closest to Sai. Maybe once he would have considered him a lover…but how could he now? A lover was supposed to love their companion in a special type of way, and only them. A lover was supposed be with the one they called their lover, and only them. Lover wasn't the appropriate word for Naruto. And Sai wondered if it ever was.

~*~*~*~*~

"Sai? What are you doing here?" the man covered in bandages asked as he felt a familiar presence approach him. Danzo turned and watched as Sai walked closer to where he stood. The young ninja looked many things. One would be miserable, another was perplexed. But the boy hid them well. Danzo was only able to tell because of the mass amount of time he had shared with the painter.

Danzo knew almost immediately what was weighing on Sai's mind when said boy begin to twiddle with the golden band that was on his left hand.

"Danzo…" were the boy's first words since he had arrived in the elderly man's home. Said man motioned for the boy he sometimes called Sai to sit alongside him, which he did.

"Sai, what has happen—"

"Naruto…did it again. He broke it, but I don't think it'll be easy to mend this time around," Sai answered before Danzo could ask, his voice and face devoid of any emotion. Danzo cringed slightly as he watched the boy. He knew this time he was broken. And just when Danzo was sure that Sai was finally regaining the humanity he had once lost.

Danzo had to admit it was partly his fault for the way Sai was. But Sai had come to him partially broken also; cracked so deep in some areas, paint simply wouldn't cover them. They'd just show through.

"Danzo-sama…would it be alright if…if I could stay here for awhile?" Sai voiced weakly, the emotions he was feeling finally starting to show on his face. The sympathy Danzo felt for the boy won't allow him to say no. "You know where the room is."

"Thank you." And with that, Sai stood and shifted slowly to second room to the left down the familiar first story hallway. Danzo watched carefully until the door closed behind the twenty-year-old man. He released a sigh he was holding back and raised his good hand to rub face.

"I warned him about that boy…"

~*~*~*~*~

Flashback

~*~*~*~*~

_The brunet groaned; the light from the windows slowly woke him from his not-so-peaceful slumber. The moments before blacking out replayed in Sai's mind as he slowly opened his heavy and weary eyes._

"_I see you're awake," said the voice of the head medic. Sai snorted. The old drunkard growled before standing to retrieve the clipboard post at the foot of the bed. Sai sat up and watched as she flipped through the pages of information._

"_Mind telling me why you fainted? Tests say it was stress-induced," she asked, her eyes never leaving the papers in her hand. Sai averted his gaze down towards the sheets before taking a deep breath. "It's nothing." He lied and he was pretty sure Tsunade knew._

"_Bullshit. We both know it's not nothing." She was right, but Sai wasn't sure if he should tell her when he wasn't too sure himself either._

"_Sasuke…Sasuke said he and Naruto…have had relations. I don't know if it is true or not, but…" he could finish his explanation. Just thinking of the two together made his voice crack and eyes water. Naruto was his, not Sasuke's._

'_But they've had relations in the past, before I even met the two of them.'_

_Sai couldn't deny that fact. Naruto was Sasuke's in the past, but that wasn't true any longer._

"_Sai…? Are you saying…Naruto's cheated on you?" Tsunade's voce became hushed as she muttered the question. Sai's lack of response made her assume the worse._

"_Fucking brat—!"_

"_DON'T!...please don't…" his tone feel into a whisper as his speech progressed. The painter became quite upset from the whole ordeal. "I just want to go. Please, can I leave now?" Tsunade debated an answer before nodded and turning to leave the room._

"_Just don't stress yourself. It's not good."_

~*~*~*~*~

End Flashback

~*~*~*~*~

And that was what Sai was trying to do. Relax and stay stress free. But it was harder than it looked. Stress wasn't something Sai was used to dealing with. Never before had he needed to make such a decision that would cause him to experience this feeling known as stress.

But it was there and he wasn't sure what to do. He tried painting, reading and simply lying down but nothing seemed to calm his overactive nerves. His thoughts continued to return to Naruto and their daughter Hoshiko. He wondered if he should return to take her with him. But he didn't want to talk to the blond man that he knew he would find if he went "home."

Danzo reminded the painter constantly about relaxing, especially after he caught Sai throwing his guts up one morning after breakfast. Sai simply passed it off as an upset stomach but Danzo thought otherwise. He had never known Sai to do such a thing. Then again, lately the boy had been full of surprises.

"-other than that, I have nothing else to report to you Danzo-sama." An ANBU member reported. The old man nodded then dismissed the agent back to resume his duties. Sai watched from the other room as Danzo did business. He was no longer a member of ROOT and allowed in the same room while another was informed of the organization's top-secret missions.

"Tea?" Sai offered as his excuse to enter the room. Danzo looked up from the papers he was holding and nodded as he resumed scanning them. The younger male set the tea on the side table and began to pour a cup for the other, occasionally sneaking a peak at some of the missions up for grabs. Sai was sure Tsunade wouldn't allow him to take a mission and though he was no longer a member of ROOT, Danzo was his last chance at receiving some action.

"No."

"Hm?"

"No."

"Please, Danzo-sama. I need this." Sai pleaded.

"I can't have you going out there. Tsunade would have my head and you are not in good condition." Sai nearly rolled his eyes at Danzo's statement. "Since when did it matter so long as the mission was completed? Danzo-sama, I'm fine. Please let me go."

Danzo pressed his lips into a thin line as he thought on the decision. He looked as he was concentrating hard on the document before him. Only after a few moments, a sigh left the man's lips and his face softened ever so slightly before muttering his defeat.

"You may go, but only on a D-rank." Sai gave a small smile before thanking his master and getting ready to leave. Danzo on the other hand wasn't as enthused. He personally hoped that he wasn't making a mistake sending Sai out there in his current condition.

~*~*~*~

Naruto had woken up lonely. The bed felt cold and empty and he wasn't sure why the one who used to warm it was not there. He wondered why he wasn't looking into that beautiful pale face he was used to. He wondered, but no answer came to mind.

With a sigh, he rolled out of the bed and over to the bathroom he once shared with his lover. Naruto glanced at his reflection and concluded that he looked like shit. Maybe a shower would do him some good, he thought. And with that, he started the warm water and stripped the small amount of clothes he had on.

The water felt warm on his skin, but failed to warm him on the inside. That space was usually kept warm by Sai.

"Daddy, I'm hungry," came the voice of his child along with a knock at the bathroom door. Naruto sighed before yelling a quick reply to her over the roar of the water. Within a few moments he was dressed and ready for the day. He took a quick glance in the mirror before leaving the room, going to tend to his daughter's needs.

~*~

"Okay, I'm here. Whaddya want?" Naruto asked as he rounded the corner and hoped into the kitchen. Hoshiko, who was waiting at the table, exclaimed the name of her favorite cereal and Naruto happily replied.

"Um…here ya go." Naruto said as he placed the bowl in front of the young girl. She smiled her thanks before chowing down on the food. Naruto smiled at the girl before starting on his.

The atmosphere was shifty. One moment it was calm and pleasant, then next tense and filled with confusion.

"Where is mommy?" Hoshiko finally asked. The thought had been weighing on her mind for a long time, but she just didn't have the courage to ask until now.

"…I'm sure he'll be home soon, just be patient." He didn't exactly answer her question, but how could he when he wasn't sure of the truth itself?

"C'mon, you have to go to Iruka's. I have to work today."

"…fine…"

~*~*~*~

"Be good, okay?"

"Ok."

"Thanks for watching her, Iruka," Naruto thanked his old sensei.

"No problem," Iruka said. Naruto smiled sincerely before turning to leave Iruka with Hoshiko. "Thanks again…" He muttered before flashing off to check into work. Simple job today. He simply had to patrol the city. Usually, he would have complained of having to work the simple mission, but at the moment he was happy he was receiving anything.

The town stood quiet as Naruto jumped from rooftop to rooftop. No suspicious activity or crime. But that wasn't what ailed at Naruto though. What really bothered him was Sai and his sudden absence. Naruto was worried but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. That was what he thought, until he saw a familiar black and white figure walking towards the gates off Konoha. Where is he going? he thought as he turned to head towards the gates. Maybe on a mission.

"Sai!" the blonde called out once he neared his objective. Said objective tensed visibly before turning and to greet Naruto with a distant look that almost screamed, "Fuck off!"

"Sai? Are you okay? Where have you been?" Naruto asked. He walked towards his lover, and his lover took a step back. The simple action was enough for Naruto to think something was truly wrong with his beloved.

"Sai?"

"What?" Sai finally replied, his voiced filled with hurt and disgust.

"What's with the attitude?" Naruto asked, not liking the way Sai was addressing him.

"Are you serious, dickless? Are you really asking me that? After you slept with Sasuke, you have the nerve to ask me that?" Naruto's eyebrow lifted.

"Whoa, whoa. What are you talking about?" Sai's anger just grew with every word that came out of the blonde's mouth. "Don't bullshit me! You got him pregnant! I know it was you. He knew everything about you that only I should have known." Sai took a deep breath through his nose to calm down.

"All you had to say was that you still loved him. Maybe then I could have left you alone after he returned…maybe even before then. Now, I have a lot to deal with…"

Sai trailed off as his face twisted into one full of thought. "I'm taking Hoshiko after I return. Don't want to be in the way of your new family." The painter said as he throw on a faux, bitter smile then turned to walk through the gates. Naruto stood in shook at what he had just heard. He wasn't sure why this was happening…but a very strange hunch told him Sasuke was a culprit in this crime.

~*~*~*~

Naruto thudded forcefully on the wooden door of the Uchiha estate. He waited 30 seconds before he contemplated bashing the passage in and dragging the only resident out where he stood now. Just as he was starting to perform these actions, the door opened to reveal a very smug-looking Uchiha.

"So you came running to me, uh? Did that pansy break up with you?" Naruto's eyes narrowed. The blonde grabbed Sasuke's arm and forcibly began to drag him in the direction of the hospital. "Ow, hey, stop! You're hurting me." Sasuke tried to maintain his Uchiha stern tone, but it sounded as if he was whining. Naruto didn't care either way. He was going to make the Uchiha follow him to where he was heading, it didn't matter how.

"Dobe, let me go." Sasuke commanded. Naruto didn't bother to acknowledge the other's words though.

"Naruto—"

"Shut up!" Naruto had turned and began to shake Sasuke's arm harshly. Sasuke's eyes had widened as he watch the blue-eyed jinchuuriki. "Shut up! Don't say another word until we get there," he snarled in a voice so low it sounded almost like a whisper. Sasuke nodded out of sudden fear and allowed the other to pull him quietly for the rest of the short trip.

The pair, or rather, Naruto, stormed into the lobby of the sterile building, demanding to see Tsunade.

"She's busy—"

"I don't care, make her available now."

"What the hell is wrong with everyone and threatening my staff?!" came the raspy voice of the Godaime. Naruto turned and walked straight up to the woman as she appeared from around the corner. "I need you to examine this teme." Naruto pointed to Sasuke. Tsunade looked slightly irritated at the boy's command. However, she complied. "C'mon." She motioned for Naruto and Sasuke to follow as she made her to a nearby room used for checkups.

"So, what's up?" Tsunade asked as she sat down in a chair across the room from the door. Naruto spoke before Sasuke could open his mouth.

"I want to know if he's pregnant, and if it's mine." He said. Tsunade raised a brow before replying. "Shouldn't you already know? You slept with him." Her reply angered Naruto greatly.

"I've NEVER slept with him!!" He whispered harshly. Tsunade snorted. "Funny. That's not what Sai said."

"Dammit, Tsunade! Just tell me if it is! I want just as badly for it to not be mine as Sai, but I won't know until you find out!" Sasuke smirked. It didn't matter to him one way or another if Naruto didn't like that idea of him having his baby. All that mattered was the fact that he was and his clan was going to be restored with such strong blood coursing through its veins.

Tsunade on the other hand, wanted to strangle them both then and there. How dare Naruto do this to Sai and how dare Sasuke think he can waltz back in the village and take what wasn't his? The only thing stopping the Godaime from doing so was the possibility of Sasuke being with child. She'd never endanger a child, no matter how much she couldn't stand its parents.

"Fine. Sasuke, get your ass on this table so I can examine you." Sasuke looked as if he was going to protest (at being told what to do), but Tsunade stopped him with a glare even he couldn't refuse.

"Alright let's begin."

~*~*~

The checkup didn't take long. The results didn't please Naruto one bit either. Sasuke was indeed pregnant like he had claimed and based on the aura of the fox that circle around and object in the raven's stomach, the baby was his, no doubt.

"I don't know why you needed a test to confirm this," Sasuke said. Tsunade had taken her leave soon after she had determined the results. She wasn't too happy either.

Naruto slumped his head in the palms of hands. This certainly gave Sai every right to be angry with him. Sasuke ruined his second chance with Sai.

"How the hell did you do it?" Naruto demanded, his head still in his hands. Sasuke huffed and faced away from the blonde. "I see no reason to tell you…but I will, nonetheless," he replied.

"I transformed into your ex-lover and you fell for it. Even I know that it is uncharacteristic of that ink-stain to rush into things like he did when he courted you, or should I say me, in my living room." Sasuke chuckled darkly. So far, his plan was working.

The Jinchuuriki gritted his teeth as each word Sasuke uttered flowed through his ears. All he could think of was how much he wanted to hurt the other. One, for ruining his life, and two, for betraying him.

Naruto rose from his chair and turned to walk out the door. He passed by Sasuke's lackeys in the waiting room on his way out. They responded immediately and ran to their leader who still sat quietly on the table covered with thin crinkly paper.

"Sasuke! Are you alright?" Karin frantically asked. Sasuke didn't bother answering her question. Suigetsu decided to for him.

"Of course he's okay. It's a fucking hospital."

Karin growled.

"I don't think she meant it like that, Suigetsu." Juugo intervened before the two would shed each other's blood. Suigetsu huffed and muttered something ignorant beneath his breath. Sasuke ignored them all and smiled soundly to himself.

Now all I have to do is wait…

~*~*~*~*~

"You look stressed." Sai looked up at the ROOT member who stated the obvious. His response was a small noise that almost sounded like the painter whispered a "no shit" under his breath.

Sai had been joined by the masked man only an hour after he had left the village. In the end, Danzo still hadn't trusted Sai's health at all. And for once, Sai was glad the man hadn't. Midway through his mission, fatigue had kicked in hard, which affected his speed and awareness badly. He was almost sure he would have had to turn back when his second member decided to show. Sai had never been so thankful in his life.

"Maybe we should get some rest. You look pale-...-er," said the man in the eagle mask. Sai wanted to complain, but he also knew that he couldn't continue in his condition. He'd just be in the way of himself and his partner.

"Alright," Sai complied and began to set up a small camp for the night. By the time he was finished setting up, the sun had begun to fall out of its place high in the sky to the horizon line. He wiped the sweat from his brow as he placed some water in his canteen from the spring nearby. He should have returned to camp, but the cramps in his abdomen just took his will away.

"Come. We have to get back to camp before dark," said the ANBU before jumping from a tree and walked over to Sai to help him up, which Sai graciously accepted. Kami knew he wouldn't have been able to stand himself.

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet…"

"Hm?"

"It seems the enemy had decided to come to us." Oh…this just wasn't Sai's day. And to prove such a point, five rouge ninja flashed into the clearing. Both Sai and the ANBU took their positions and began to defend and fight off the ninja. Three came down shooting kunai at their opponents, the others charging forward on ground. Sai drew out his sword and blocked an incoming kunai before charging at an approaching enemy. The eagle-masked ANBU used a water jutsu to slow down four of the five ninja. The fifth had evaded the attack and charge straight for Sai, who was oblivious to the man charging at him.

"Sai!" the warning was a bit too late. The moment Sai turned to look at the man who had called his name, he saw the enemy no more than two feet from him and had no time to retaliate.

Sai's eyes widened as he felt a kunai stab just below this rib cage. His face twisted in shock from the pain and his thoughts were of nothing but how much it had all hurt. Sai couldn't stop his body from falling to the ground as soon as the rouge ninja had pulled the weapon from his body. He could feel his blood flow through the wound and onto the cold ground. The sound of his breathing got louder with every breath he drew in, and the sounds of battle and nature seemed to grow softer with each passing moment. At this moment, Sai was sure he was going to die. And he never got to say goodbye to his broken family.

* * *

OMG!?!! Is Sai going to be safe? Or is this the end? Well, you won't know until the next chapter. And the next chapter will not come until I receive at least 5 reviews. _**NEXT CHAPTER WILL NOT COME UNTIL I RECEIVE 5 REVIEWS!! THANKS!!**_

Oh, and don't forget to vote on the poll on my page!!


	5. We Are Not Together Here

Hi there!! Here is the new chapter. Hope you like it. I have challenge at the end if you want to participate.

Disclaimer- I own nothing. It's called a fanfiction for a reason.

* * *

We Are Not Together Here

* * *

The pain was immense. Why he could still feel such a thing he wasn't sure. Right when he had collapsed onto the ground, he thought his life had ended. But apparently it hadn't. You weren't supposed to feel pain when you died, right? Wasn't that how it worked?

After a few minutes of pondering the pain, Sai opened his eyes for the first time that day. Once his orbs became fully adjusted to the light, the boy began to take in his surroundings. He was, once again, in the hospital. Sai felt like he could call this place his second home, he had ended up staying the night here almost as much as he did his own house.

Though the hospital wasn't the nicest niche, it was a nice place for Sai to think. It was (mostly) quiet and it was perfect for alone time since he never had to share his room with another patient. Not many wanted to. They all were put off by the idea that he and the demon of the village had a relationship. The artist thought it rather childish of them since that "demon" had saved their lives on more than one occasion.

But in truth, Sai felt that his relationship with Naruto had grown weaker and weaker with each passing day. Even before the Uchiha entered the picture, he had felt the distance growing larger each day. It was like the ring on his finger meant nothing.

Sai fiddled with the golden band around his finger. He remembered the day he received it like it was yesterday. That silly book Naruto had crafted and the unique way he had presented his love for him.

And that beautiful ring at the end…

_He almost dropped the book when he looked at the next page. Taped to the page was a diamond band._

"_Sai," Naruto began, getting down on one knee as he peeled the ring from the page, "will you marry me?"_

_Sai's eyes started to water, but the artist still nodded vigorously, for no words would form in his mouth. He was so…happy? Naruto simply smiled and leaned forward to slip the ring onto Sai's slender finger before moving to hug the fragile-looking boy._

"_I promise you, Sai, you won't regret it." Naruto smiled even more when he heard his artist whisper a soft, "you don't need to promise. I already know…"_

Sai let out a short, bitter chuckle. "I won't regret it? Sometimes I think I should have never given you that second chance." But Sai couldn't really mean that. He had been happy for a while. Especially only a few short hours after Naruto had proposed to him, when his baby girl had been born. It was the happiest moment of his life. He'd _never_ regret that.

A growl from Sai's stomach and a bitter tang on his tongue ripped him from his train of thoughts to something more urgent. The sudden urge to heave whatever he'd last eaten overtook him. But his wound wouldn't allow for him to sit up, much less stand and rush to the bathroom. Sai didn't have much time to think on it before he hurled over the bed to clear his already void stomach.

"I see you're up—whoa…" Sakura walked in the room and saw the bedridden painter emptying his guts all over the floor.

"You seem…ill." Sai's heaving ceased long enough for him to give Sakura a look that said, "No shit, ugly dog." Sakura simply ignored the dirty look as she walked over to the phone and ordered a janitor to come take care of Sai's little (large) mess. By the time the brunet had finished emptying himself, both the janitor and Tsunade had entered the room. The old blonde looked somewhat disgusted while the janitor looked as if he had hit the jackpot. It was pretty obvious that the weird man had really enjoyed his job.

"How about you feeling, Sai?" Tsunade questioned, trying to get the janitor's disturbing grin out of her mind. Sai smiled as a force of habit and replied, "Horrible. I feel like someone stabbed me after I just returned from a drinking party." Sakura's face twisted into one of confusion when she noticed that the ersatz smiles Sai had not too long ago gotten rid of had returned. She'd have to ask him about that when they were alone.

Tsunade dramatically sighed and plopped down in a chair before sticking her hand out for Sakura to hand her Sai's medical file.

"Well, you're half right. You were stabbed, right below the ribcage. Didn't I tell you to take it easy?" Sai chose to ignore the question and continued to smile and wait for what the old medic would say next.

"Done!" came the exclamation from the janitor. All three pairs of eyes (two really, Sai's eyes seemed to be closed) averted to look at the man, silently telling him to "get the hell out." With that, he sheepishly gathered his supplies and walked quickly out of the room. The trio waited half a minute before they resumed talking.

Tsunade started the reading Sai his results. "Anyway, as I was saying, you were stabbed. Thankfully, that ANBU Danzo sent with you came to your rescue." Sakura nodded in agreement. She would have been devastated if Sai, one of her closest friends, had died on that mission. "As for the your 'hangover experience,'" Tsunade continued, "that's because you are now expecting…again."

Sai's eyes widened. "What?" he queried, his smile no longer present as he sat up in his bed. His pain went unnoticed for a few moments. His main focus was the words coming from Tsunade's mouth.

"Yup, 'bout two months along. Give or take a week." Sai almost choked. There was no way he was pregnant again. He had always thought it was a onetime deal. Naruto and he never had protected sex and nothing had ever happened. Well, not since Hoshiko.

It took a few moments for Sai to collect himself. Mentally and physically, Sai was a mess. All he really wanted was to curl up into a ball and sleep for a few hundred years.

"I know you're already aware of this, but there are options." Tsunade reminded the man as she rose from the chair and left the room. Sakura decided to stay a little longer to ask Sai the questions that have been weighing on her mind.

"Hey, Sai," Sakura started as she sat on the edge of Sai's bed. "Are you alright? And I don't mean physically because it's pretty obvious you aren't."

Sai turned towards his female friend and smiled in response. Sakura could always figure out what was wrong just by the sound of his voice. Apparently, his tone just sounded too fake when things weren't going right.

"Sai…" Sakura voiced as both a warning to cough it up and to show her concern.

Sai sighed. He knew he had to tell her. Not just so she could get off his back, but because she was like a sister to him and he'd feel horrible just to leave her concerned like that.

"It's nothing. Naruto and I just had an argument." That was putting it lightly. Sai had almost ripped out Naruto's throat.

"Really? What happened this time?" Sakura asked with the utmost concern.

"I found out that my fiancé and the Uchiha have been exchanging their seeds. And now, the Uchiha is pregnant." Sai said, his face expressing nothing but false happiness.

Sakura's, however, showed many real emotions, like shock and anger. Sai could tell she was about to blow a gasket.

Sakura wanted to do so much. She wanted to rip both Naruto and Sasuke's heads off. She wanted to comfort Sai and tell him he could do better. None of these things she could manage to do though, her body seemed frozen to the spot she sat.

"Sakura, when can I check out? I have to go get Hoshiko," Sai asked. His eyes fell to the window. It was still bright outside, which was good. Sai wanted to get Hoshiko and her things before it got too dark.

"You're still recovering from a stab wound. You won't be out of here for about a week or so and that's if you're lucky. You need to take it easy, Sai. And besides, you're pregnant. Just relax." Sakura's words didn't make Sai too happy. With a sigh, the artist leaned back into the hospital pillow and continued to stare out the window as if he was sulking. Sakura shook her head and smiled sadly before exiting the room.

"You know, Sai," Sakura began before she completely exited the room, "things will get better. Maybe not immediately, but they will. If you'd like me to pick up Hoshiko for you, I will." She offered and waited for a reply. A minute had gone by, but not a word escaped Sai's mouth.

"Well, ja ne, Sai," Sakura muttered before walking from the small room.

~*~*~*~

Naruto sat silently in the room filled with paintings and portraits, thinking of one of the most things important to him (that wasn't ramen). He thought of how angry Sai was when he walked through those gates. How sad he looked when he had turned, hoping Naruto wouldn't have seen him.

Damn, was all Naruto could think at this point. Damn to how hard it was going to be without Sai. Damn to Sasuke who had fucked up his life. Damn to himself for not trying harder in stopping Sai and making him understand. He just wished it would go away, but he knew in his heart that it wouldn't simply disappear.

"D-daddy?" a shaky voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked over to see his teary-faced Hoshiko standing timidly at the entrance to the room. Naruto heart softened immediately as he rushed over to comfort his daughter.

"Shiko, what's wrong?" Naruto asked, his voice remaining soft as he hugged and wiped the tears from Hoshiko's eyes. "I m-miss Mommy!" she sobbed. Naruto's heart skipped a beat when he heard the words. "You miss Mommy?" He whispered. Naruto could feel her head nod beside his. Inwardly, he sighed. _'I miss Mommy too' _he thought, but didn't dare speak. Hoshiko was a smart girl; she would know Naruto didn't know where Sai was either, which would only upset her more.

"Don't worry, He'll come back."_ For you at least._

"Really? He didn't abandon us, did he?" Naruto pulled back from the embrace and looked Hoshiko dead in the eyes. "Your Mommy would never do that to you. He loves you more than anything and he would never abandon you for anything. Got that? Don't say such a thing ever again," Naruto firmly told his daughter. She nodded with such vigor, Naruto was afraid her head would fall off. Slowly, the blonde brought his hands to Hoshiko's head and stopped it before she broke her neck and kissed her cheek.

"Now, go play in your room."

"Okay," she replied before trailing up the stairs. She no longer missed her mom as bad. Now, something else weighed heavy on her mind.

_Daddy said Mommy would always come back for me, but he never said he'd come back for him._

~*~*~*~*~

All his life, Kakashi had been a pretty mellow guy. Only on a few occasions had he let himself get too excited in a situation, excluding the times when someone he cared about life was on the line.

And at this moment, he was somewhat agitated. Mere moments ago Kakashi had learned what Sasuke had done to both Naruto and Sai from Tsunade. He was shocked at first, though he wasn't sure why (Sasuke had always been such a conniving and somewhat shady fellow). Then he became angry. Kakashi could never stand for betrayal and for Sasuke to have done it more than once, and to a comrade no less, angered him. So when Tsunade had sent him on a very interesting mission, he couldn't help but agree.

_You are to watch over Sasuke and his lackeys until his child is born. I don't trust them and frankly, neither does the council. It's not a hard mission, but your watchful eyes will be useful._

Kakashi wondered why they hadn't sent a Hyuuga instead, but he was grateful that they hadn't. He wanted to handle the (currently) last Uchiha himself.

The gates to the Uchiha mansion came in to view as the silver-haired man walked along the trail, his face planted in a volume of Icha Icha Paradise. He only lifted his eyes when he sensed the familiar presence of Sasuke and the rest of his gang. He followed their chakra to the garden in the back where he heard voices bickering about something he could only guess was trivial.

"Dammit, the color is obviously pink."

"No, it's magenta. Be specific!"

"For fuck's sake, it's pink!"

"Will you shut up?! The color doesn't matter! It's a fucking flower!" Sasuke's booming voice interrupted the two. No longer were their voices heard after the Uchiha commanded them to quiet down. Kakashi chuckled. _Mood swings_, he thought to himself. Their little group could almost compare to the old Team Seven, except back then, it'd be Naruto and Sasuke arguing and Sakura telling them both to stop bickering on the account that Sasuke-_kun_ would obviously win.

"Ever the commander, aren't we Sasuke?"

All four faces turned towards the man, but only the addressed one glared as Kakashi approached.

"What are you doing here, _sensei_?" Sasuke sneered. Kakashi simply smiled behind his mask and walked closer the group. "What, I can't visit one of my dear old students?"

"Bullshit. Why are you really here?" Sasuke glared, obviously not buying it.

"Oh, language. Such a foul mouth you have." Sasuke disregarded Kakashi's statement and continued to glare. "I'm here on Tsunade-sama's orders. I'll be your babysitter for the next few months."

All eyes (excluding Kakashi's) grew wide in fear, anger, or surprise.

"Why? I don't need anyone to watch over me."

"…"

"Sasuke-kun doesn't need you. He has me!"

"Great…" Suigetsu muttered sarcastically as he ended the montage of questions and comments. Kakashi felt the need to laugh at the group of teens. Excluding Juugo, who seemed to be the most mature of the group, they all seemed somewhat selfish and had a very arrogant air about them. The Copy Nin could already say he was going to have his hands full just from observing and interacting with the four for less than five minutes.

"Guys—and gal—relax. I'll make it so you won't even know I'm here." _For now._ Sasuke's intense glare hadn't let up one bit and the others seemed unconvinced as well despite Kakashi's efforts. At this point, the silver-haired man grew tired of trying to get the others to understand and started to take on a different approach.

"Look, I know you don't want me here, but this is my mission. If you don't like it, you can take it up with her, though I'm sure that won't change anything. I'd like for us to be on good terms but whether you cooperate or not does not affect my job," Kakashi let the teens know. He could care less about what they thought as long as they didn't interfere with completing his mission.

"Fine, Kakashi. But you had better not think that for one moment you can order me around. This is _my_ house. Got that?" Sasuke stated his rule with a look that told Kakashi he wasn't just trying to scare him. But it didn't matter one bit to the man. He wasn't afraid of the Uchiha. Even less fearful now that the other was in a "delicate condition."

"Sure, Sasuke, I understand. You run things around here." _For now._ Kakashi repeated to himself while pulling out his Icha Icha Paradise book and leaning against a nearby trunk. The girl, who Kakashi guessed was Karin, huffed and folded her arms, clearly not pleased with the way Kakashi was treating her Sasuke-kun.

Sasuke and the other males in Taka simply acted as if Kakashi was no longer there, only occasionally stealing glances in his direction to look for any suspicious activity from the Leaf ninja. They gave up soon enough, for they knew that the other Sharingan user was almost as pure as spring water when it came to fair play and loyalty.

"We're going inside," Sasuke commanded his followers after an hour of basking in the sun. The group all rose from their seats and began to the follow the brunet inside. Kakashi watched as the group went inside and walked after them. His mission officially started now and he had to be sharp if he wanted to find what Tsunade wanted from him.

~*~*~*~

"Daddy, why are we at the hospital?" Hoshiko asked as she skipped alongside her father who walked calmly towards the receptionist.

"We're going to visit Mommy," the blonde voiced softly. The little brunette squealed before jumping a little and starting to sing a song.

"We are gonna visit mommy!" She spun and tapped. Naruto smiled briefly before it disappeared as quickly as it had come. He couldn't bring himself to smile wide and proud at the moment. Not after the call he received that morning about Sai being hospitalized.

"Room 123a, sir," the receptionist told Naruto once he finished filling out the visitors form. He nodded his thanks and grabbed Hoshiko's hand and headed up the stairs to room 123a.

"No, it's fine." Naruto could hear the voices of Sai and Tsunade as he neared the room.

"Are you sure? I could always do it for you." She asked. Naruto's interest was starting to peak now. Just what were they talking about?

"No, I'd just look like a coward," Sai replied. Naruto decided this would be a good point to walk in and interrupt the conversation. Hoshiko pranced in the room and jumped happily on Sai's lap. Sai smiled and hugged his hyper daughter before looking back at Naruto with a face quite the opposite of happy.

Tsunade looked between the two lovers. Without a second thought, she stood and took in a deep breath. "Hoshiko, why don't we go and see the staff? I'm sure they'd love to see you." Hoshiko, ever the child, jumped across the room and latched onto Tsunade's right hand. The female Sannin slowly led the girl out of the room before looking at the couple and mouthing, "solve your problems."

The couple glanced at each other before they averted their eyes to anything but the other. The room felt tense. They each knew they need to talk about the problem, but neither want to bring it up. Naruto cleared his throat, hoping to break the silence. Sai played with the ring on his finger before removing the piece of jewelry and holding out for Naruto to take.

"Sai…?" Naruto questioned at a small volume. Sai shook his head and set the ring in the blonde's hand and folding it softly.

"I can't do this any longer." His voice was even smaller. "I've been thinking about it for a while. I don't need this and you don't want this. I can take care of Hoshiko and this baby by myself. I don't need assistance from you."

Naruto couldn't believe what the artist was saying. Sai was his precious treasure. He'd never do anything to hurt him. And just when there was another baby on the way. Damn Sasuke! Before that bastard came back, his life had been perfect. But now…

"Sai, what do I have to do to make you realize that I love you and that I never meant to sleep with Sasuke?"

"You never meant to?" Sai asked. Naruto just didn't know how to speak to another. "So you just slept with him thinking it was someone else?" An edge could be heard in his voice.

"Exactly!" Naruto yelled, very frustrated.

"Do you take me for a fool? No, don't answer that. Just make sure that by the time I'm out of here, you have Hoshiko's things packed, because I'm still taking her with me."

The silence that had plagued the room hit once more with force. Naruto's gaze bore deep into Sai's black orbs, watching them as if he they could show the other's thoguhts. He watched in hope that he could find some part of Sai that still trusted him and didn't want him to leave.

If there had been, Sai hid it well.

"Fine…I'll pack her things as soon as I return," Naruto muttered in defeat. Their eyes broke contact as his own started water. He held back the tears. He wouldn't let Sai have the satisfaction of seeing him in such a state, not knowing that the painter's eyes were watering as well.

Sai didn't respond to Naruto. He just watched through blurry eyes as he exited the room and sank into the bed. It was hard to tell Naruto that. He truly loved the man, but his heart couldn't take the hurt any longer.

He sighed as his gaze fell on his finger. It felt cold and naked without Naruto's love there to sheath it.

~*~*~*~

Packing Hoshiko's bags proved to be the hardest thing Naruto had ever had to do. Saying goodbye to the things he had become used to felt like bits of his soul were being ripped apart. She was all he had left. After Sai took her with him, he'd be alone again. He hated the feeling of being alone. It was worst than any near death experience he ever felt.

"Daddy, what are you doing?" Naruto jumped at hearing the voice of his baby girl. There Hoshiko stood in the doorway, watching as Naruto folded each article of clothing and placed it gently into the carrier bag.

"Oh, this? Well, your mother and I were talking and…you'll be going on a little vacation with him for a while." Naruto lied and smiled as he motioned for the girl to come closer.

"Yeah?" She asked as Naruto pulled her into an embrace.

"I love you. You know that right?" he muttered into her shoulder. "Yeah," she responded.

"I love you so much." He whispered once more and strengthened his hold on the hug.

"I love you too, Daddy." Hoshiko said and returned the hug. Naruto smiled softly and nuzzled his nose into her neck. He'd miss this once she left. "Let's just stay like this a bit longer." Naruto spoke softly.

This would probably be the last moment he'd share with his daughter. He couldn't help but feel grateful she couldn't see him as the long held back tears fell from his eyes, releasing all his sadness to the world.

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READ AND REVIEW!!!

Challenge- All of the titles for each chapter has something in common. Can you figure it out? Please be VERY specific with your answer. If I deem you the winner, you name will be featured in chapter 6.


	6. Listen to Your Heart

Hi!! Welcome to Chapter 6 of The Morning Sees, But Gives Way to Night. I have the answered to the previous challenge at the end of the chapter. Hope you enjoy the chapter and review.

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Boy, was this aggravating. Suigetsu, get this. Suigetsu, get that. Suigetsu, come rub my feet. What was he, some slave? Well, he wasn't, so that red-eyed bloodsucking leech Sasuke could kiss his ass or die in a ditch for all he cared! But the fear prevented Suigetsu from speaking his mind. Pregnant or not, the Uchiha was something Suigetsu feared. Not that he would admit it out loud. He'd be as good as dead if he did.

And at the moment, he wished he _was_ a dead man. The almighty asshole himself had just called the shark boy over to rub his sore feet.

"He's not even 3 months and already he's asking for foot rubs," Suigetsu growled to himself. Oh, he'd make sure that man would suffer the same way he suffered one day. But until that day, he'd wait and scope for the perfect payback.

"Suigetsu, what took you so long? Get your ass over here and rub these damned feet," Sasuke commanded. He was lounged on the sofa with a book in his hands. The fact that the man seemed comfortable bothered Suigetsu. It made his blood boil.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, becoming impatient with Suigetsu. The silver-haired boy simply glared at the brunet behind the book and reluctantly walked closer to the other.

Suigetsu grabbed the massage lotion and squeezed a fair amount of the liquid into his palm before reaching over, with disgust in his face, to work the lotion and his "magic" into the limbs. Sasuke wiggled his toes in the shark's face knowing that it irked the man oh-so much. Suigetsu mentally growled at the raven, wishing he could just bite his little toes from his foot. But he simply valued his life too much.

"Suigetsu, what are you doing? This feels horrible. Knead it harder."

"Fuck this…" Suigetsu muttered.

"What was that?" Sasuke pulled the book from his face and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the other.

"Nothing," Suigetsu sighed.

"Hmph."

Oh, cutting this man's head off sounded so great. So great indeed.

~*~*~*~

"I wish for a lot of things," Hoshiko stated as she watched a shooting star fly by through the window. Sai walked behind her and looked out the window before replying.

"What do you wish for?" he asked.

"I wish to be grown up. So I can do things myself."

"Uh-hn."

"I wish too that I was rich so I could buy everything in the world."

"Go on."

"I wish there was food for everyone because I like food."

"That's good."

"And I wish mommy and daddy could live happily with me again." Sai didn't reply immediately as he had done for the others, letting the words soak into his mind.

"I wish for that too," He muttered in a tone close to a whisper. Hoshiko looked back to observe the face Sai was making, wanting to know if it matched his tone. When she saw nothing, she returned to looking through the window and continued making wishes.

"I wish I had a pet bunny and a dog and I want a giant robot that would clean my room for me and—"

"Hoshiko."

"Yes?"

"I wish you would go upstairs and wash up for bed." Sai interrupted when he came out of his momentary slump.

"We all wish for things we just can't have," Hoshiko retorted, using one of Sai's favorite things to say to her when she asked for things she couldn't have. Sai raised his eyebrows at the little girl, wondering why she was so smart for her age. Probably that damned fox gene.

"Five seconds." The artist said. He knew Hoshiko was familiar with the counting down. It meant she had better start doing what he had asked or she was in for a punishment.

"Mommy, I don't wanna—"

"Four."

"No!" She whined while walking towards the stairs slowly.

"Three." Sai continued to count knowing that if she wasn't upstairs by the time he was done, she'd never go. Hoshiko whined some more before speeding up her stride so she would make it upstairs before Sai got to number two.

"Two."

"I'm up, I'm up!!" she squawked when she realized Sai had continued to count. It didn't strike her that she had to be in the bathroom before she was in the clear from Sai and his doomed numbers.

"One." Sai said while walking slowly towards the stairs. Seeing the confused look on Hoshiko's face made him consider giving her some help as to what he wanted from her. He pointed to the open bathroom door and nearly laughed when she sprinted towards it and accidently slammed the door on her hurry. With a smile now plastered on his face, Sai sat on the stair he had been standing on when Hoshiko rushed into the washroom and took in a deep breath. Hoshiko, no matter what she did, always made him feel happy. She was his baby…along with the new addition that would soon make itself known.

Sai ran butterfly touches across his clothed midsection. He could almost feel the life growing inside. It made him happy to know he was carrying another child inside of him. It was true the carrying part wasn't his favorite, but he loved the outcome of the long months spent suffering. He felt happy, but it made him a bit sad to know that Naruto wasn't going to be there again for the months of his pregnancy. He was at least there for some of his pregnancy with Hoshiko, but that wouldn't be the case with this one. The sadness that realization brought was immense, almost overbearing. But who was he to complain? Life just came at you with no warning of what it would bring and it was your job just to deal with it.

"Mommy, I need help." Sai could hear Hoshiko call from up the stairs. The artist yelled back for her to wait a moment as he stood from his seat walked up the stairs to assist his daughter. She was the perfect distraction indeed.

~*~*~*~*~

"Naruto. Come out of there."

"Yeah, you'll rot if you don't come out."

"N-Naruto-kun, are y-you okay?"

"Uzumaki-san, we are commanding you to leave this house this instant."

Naruto ignored the voices at his door. If they had really wanted to come in and pry him from his home, they would have done so by now. Besides, he didn't see how it was any of their concern what he did with his life. Couldn't they see he was in no mood to dance hang out with them? For fuck's sake, his lover and his child were just pulled out of his life! Who in their right mind would want to joke and hang after something like that happened to them? Certainly not Naruto. He felt worse than he had when Sasuke left the village and that took him years to recover from. Do they seriously think that this take any sooner?

"Come on, Naruto, we're worried about you. Won't you just show your face and tell us you're fine?" Naruto heard Kiba complain. If that's all they wanted, then he could comply.

"I'm fine," Naruto said once he had opened the door wide enough for his face to show, thereby technically granting their request, and slammed the door. He leaned against it and listened the group's murmurs about how rude or how bent out of shape he was. Personally, he didn't care. It wasn't Sai or Hoshiko out there, so why should he? The only thing that mattered to him at the moment was his family and nothing else.

After a few moments of mutters and murmurs, the group decided they would finally leave the blonde be. Said blonde sighed in relief before leaning up and walking into the kitchen.

"Huh?" It was there he had come across an old music box he was almost certain had been thrown out. He smiled as he approached it and flipped the top open to hear a familiar tune. "I thought this old thing didn't work," he muttered to himself as he remembered the day it had been introduced into their lives: Hoshiko's, Sai's, and his.

'''_Shiko, I have a surprise for you." Naruto had come in with a box hidden behind his back as he made his way to where his daughter was sitting playing with her toys as Sai watched her._

"_What?" She said dropping her toys and turning to face her father._

"_Look, it's a music box. When you open it, it plays a song." He handed her the box and watched as she opened the lid like it was a delicate feather that would rip if handled too hard. The music had begun to fill the room once she lifted the wooden top. Hoshiko's face twisted in awe as she listened to the music flow from the box to her ears._

"_Wow," she whispered. "What is this song?"_

"_You Are My Sunshine," Naruto replied and began to sing along with the chimes of the box._

_You are my sunshine,_

_My only sunshine_

_You make me happy,_

_When skies are gray_

_You'll never know, dear_

_How much I love you_

_Please don't take my sunshine away._

_Hoshiko smiled and began to sing along. They were soon joined by Sai, who hummed since he wasn't so big on singing._

"_I love it, Daddy. Thank you."_

"_You're welcome, sweetie."_

Naruto couldn't help but hum along as he listened to the music and remembered that pleasant memory. He wanted for times like that to come along once more. No way was he going to let this big misunderstanding hurt him this much any longer. He wanted his life back and he'd be damned if he didn't try to get it.

With a quick trip to the bathroom and a change of clothing, Naruto grabbed his keys and started to head out. With any luck at all, he'd have his family back

~*~*~*~*

"Damned Sasuke and his lotion," Suigetsu at cursed the bag in his hand. The last Uchiha had ordered a foot rub, but the massage lotion had run out, so he ordered his "slave" to retrieve more from the store.

The silver-headed man walked along the street of the town's marketplace hoping to kill some time. He was in absolutely no hurry to make it back to commander "stick in my ass" and his shitty commands. He considered buying a few items of himself, but thought against it once he saw the prices of said items.

"Damn, what's up with these prices!" he exclaimed at the last shop he had encountered. A bar of soap had cost more than the bounty on his head in Kiri!

The shark boy wandered for a little longer before he considered returning to the Uchiha manse. Just as he began his journey, a bright mop of blond hair rushed by him. He instantly knew who it was and decided to follow him. The blond was fast so Suigetsu had to travel from rooftops and treetops to keep up with him and not be seen. Naruto finally came to a stop at a house far from the urban area of Konoha, but not totally on the outskirts.

"Hey, Blondie, what are you doing?"

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be rubbing Sasuke's feet?" Naruto shot back.

Suigetsu snarled but ignored the comment. "I wanna know what you're up to."

"None of your business," Naruto replied, not wanting the shark boy in his personal business.

"This is about Sasuke, right?" Suigetsu assumed hoping he was right.

"It's none of your—"

"I wanna help."

"Wha?" Naruto's brow scrunched in confusion.

"Sasuke's made both our lives hell, so I wanna help you. It'll be my way of getting back at that bastard."

"I don't want you treating my relationship like some kind of pawn."

"You want to be back with your hubby or not?" Suigetsu was growing tired of the other's protests.

"…"

"Thought so. Now let me come with you. I can convince him that Sasuke set you up."

"Fine."

~*~*~*~

"Someone's at the door!" Hoshiko called. Danzo, being the nearest to the door, answered it and nearly shut the door in the visitors' faces when he glimpsed at who they were.

"What are you doing here, Jinchuuriki?" Danzo spat. Naruto narrowed his eyes and twisted his lips in disgust.

"I'm not too happy to see you either but I need to talk to Sai."

"No."

"I don't think you have the right to tell me no." Naruto said in a low voice. He wasn't threatening Danzo, yet. He just wanted the man to leave so he could see Sai.

"Uncle Danzo, what's wrong—DADDY!!!" Hoshiko shouted as she ran to the door and jumped to hug her father. Naruto smiled and scooped her right into his arms.

"'Shiko!! I missed you." He said in a cheery voice while kissing her cheek. Hoshiko smiled and giggled when a kiss was placed on her cheek.

"I missed you too!!" She smiled. "I wanted you to visits lots, but mommy said you were busy," she said, pouting. Naruto chuckled nervously before setting the young girl down. "Yeah, your mommy was right. I was pretty busy but I'm here now." He smiled. Hoshiko smiled at seeing her father's smile and laughed. "

I forgive you." She said before grabbing his hand. "Come on, I wanna show you my room!" Naruto followed the girl as she dragged him into the house. Suigetsu, not wanting to sit outside, walked behind the blonde and his daughter to the room.

Danzo sighed. His goal had been to keep the visitors out of the house, but Hoshiko just had to show up at that moment. "Oh well," he said. "It can't be helped that the child missed her father."

"What are you talking about?" Sai asked as he walked in to the living room. Danzo looked back and turned to walk to the kitchen. "Naruto and one of his friends came by. I was going to send them off when Hoshiko came and took them to her room. The child misses her father; I can't do anything about that." Danzo answered. The other didn't look very pleased, but not too upset either. "I'm going upstairs." He said knowing Danzo would know what he meant. The other simply nodded and dismissed him.

Sai climbed the stairs and walked to Hoshiko's room. As he neared, he could hear her talking slowly, as if she was trying to read, and Naruto helping her with the words she could not pronounce. Sai demeanor softened as he heard them bond. It hurt him dearly that he would have to take this away from them.

"Hoshiko, Naruto," Sai said while entering the room. He looked over at the additional member. "Suigetsu." He added. They turned to face the man in the doorway and Hoshiko smiled. "Mommy, look! I'm reading." Hoshiko held up the book as if her voice would drift from the page and let him hear the reading she had been doing.

"That's great," he smiled. "But Mommy has to talk to Daddy and his friend, so would you do and help Uncle Danzo in the kitchen?" Hoshiko looked as if she wanted to complain but Sai silenced her by ceasing to smile. She sighed and kissed Naruto and walked out the room to go help Danzo.

"Sai—"

"Why are you here?" Sai whispered, having suddenly lost his voice.

"Um, can I say something?" Suigetsu interrupted. Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "Sai, right? Look, Sai. Naruto's been telling you the truth. Sasuke set him up. That bastard wanted to revive his clan with a strong blood so he picked demon boy over here and tricked him by changing into you and…you know the rest."

Sai stared at the shark boy in disbelief. "How do you know this?"

"It's funny what you hear when you give a guy a foot rub."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I hate that son of a bitch and I want to ruin him. Why would I tell you something to benefit him?"Suigetsu asked. He did make a good argument. But Sai was still unsure.

Naruto decided it was his turn to speak. "Sai, I didn't bring him here, okay. He volunteered right outside the door. I wanted to come here alone and tell you that I'm not going to let Sasuke destroy us. I love you, Hoshiko and whoever is in you right now. I don't want us to be apart," Naruto pleaded.

Sai's eyes softened considerably.

_His heart yearned to forgive Naruto and live happily._

_But his common sense told him not to. _

A battle waged inside him before he looked into Naruto's saddened eyes.

"One more chance." Sai muttered. His heart sang as his mind scolded him for being such a fool.

"Sai…!" Naruto exclaimed. He rose from the bed and held Sai close to his body. "I can't thank you enough. I know it'll be hard, but I'll do everything for you," he promised the brunet. Sai tried to resist the urge to smile, but found it impossible.

"Okay, you can let me go," Sai smiled. Naruto did just that and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small golden band and gently grabbed Sai's finger. "I'd be happy if you wore this once more," Naruto whispered as he looked into Sai's coal orbs. Sai looked at the ring for a moment and smiled softly. "What are you waiting for?" He asked and Naruto complied. He lifted Sai's finger gently and placed the long discarded golden ring on the bare digit.

Sai smiled softly at the ring then at Naruto. "Don't make me regret this."

"I promise you, you won't."

Suigetsu looked between the two and sighed before smiling to himself. "Well, I guess I'm not needed here anymore. I've gotta go before Sasuke sends on that bitchy four-eyes to find me. Later," he said before walking out of the house. He gathered himself and acted as if he hadn't been near the blonde or Sai. As he walked, he thought of excuses to tell the Uchiha as to where he had been and why it had taken so long to get the damned lotion. He didn't think of much, but what he did think of he hoped Sasuke would buy.

"Where have you been?"

Suigetsu gave his runaround answer and eased his way out of the room with the excuse of bad diarrhea.

"Damned Sasuke," he muttered as he walked into the bathroom and turned on some water so it sounded as if he was actually doing something. He walked over to the furthest tile on the left from the door and lifted it. Under the tile there was a stash of items that Suigetsu put together. The shark reached into this pocket and took out a tape recorder that had been playing when he went to talk to Naruto and Sai. He ejected the tape and placed it with the rest of the items.

"I told you I would destroy you Sasuke. I just need to build my case." He whispered to himself and closed the lid on his stash. He flushed the toilet then turned off the water before leaving the bathroom. In due time, he would fulfill his promise to himself and have that cocky bastard on his knees like that bitch he was.

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AND THE WINNER IS------- NO ONE!!!No one did the challenge, but I'll give the answered anyways.

Each chapter is named after of song.

Why Does My heart Hurt So Bad – Moby

I Must Be Dreaming – Frou Frou

Kremlin Dusk- Utada Hikaru

Pretend – Secondhand Serenade

Between – Vienna Teng

Listen to Your Heart - DHT

PLEASE REVIEW!! I WANT AT LEAST 6!! PLEASE!!!! Okay?


	7. Passenger Missing, We're Looking for You

Here's Chapter 7. All my comments are at the end.

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"Does someone want to explain to me why I saw Naruto and Sai walking hand and hand down the street?" Sasuke snarled. He wasn't happy. Not in the very least. He had returned from his daily walk furious after seeing the couple he'd thought he'd broken up smiling and laughing in each other's presence. That did nothing to lift his already crabby mood considering that he'd previously discovered that there was no peanut butter to satisfy his craving for pickles dipped in peanut butter. He'd given his team hell for their incompetence and left only to return in a mood even worse than before. _Someone_ was gonna pay.

"Are you all deaf or am I talking to a bunch of idiots?! Why are they together? My plan was foolproof! No one would have been able to see through it…unless one of you squealed…"

Suigetsu held in a shudder. The Uchiha was catching on a bit too quick for his likings. His plan to ruin Sasuke and make him pay for all his abuse was at stake.

"C'mon, Sasuke. You didn't really think your plan would seriously work, did you?" Suigetsu asked, prepared to switch on his recorder from behind his back. "Naruto may be a dumbass, but Sai loves the guy. You'll have to think of something more drastic. You'll have to go for the throat."

To his relief, Sasuke looked as if he was buying into his suggestion. "But what?" he asked himself.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Daddy, when I get bigger, I'm gonna be a vet! No, a ninja! No, no, a teddy bear maker!" Hoshiko exclaimed as she walked with her father Naruto back home from the store. She nibbled at the popsicle he had bought her and smiled up at him with a messy face. Naruto chuckled and wiped the stray liquid off her chin.

"Really, a teddy bear maker? You'll make a lot of kids happy," he said.

"Yup, I will." Hoshiko smiled and skipped slightly ahead. She paused and looked back at Naruto with a puzzled expression. "When's Mommy gonna have the baby?"

Naruto looked back at her with a slightly surprised expression. "In about three months. He's pretty big, isn't he?" Naruto snickered and Hoshiko gasped.

"You can't say that! It'll hurt his feelings."

"Haha! Sorry, sorry!" Naruto laughed when his daughter began to hit him on his leg.

"You better be." She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest as if she'd been the one insulted.

Naruto looked down at Hoshiko and sighed before smiling to himself. "Just like me when I was your age."

Hoshiko smiled. "Well, I'm better."

Naruto returned her response with a soft glare. "Brat." He mumbled below his breath. Hoshiko laughed to herself after hearing Naruto's words.

The two arrived home after another twenty minutes of walking. Naruto pulled out his keys and opened the door while Hoshiko skipped passed him straight to the kitchen. A cough from Sai could be heard coming from the cooking room as Naruto walked towards the room to greet his husband. Sai looked back at Naruto and glared.

"You were supposed to be back thirty minutes ago," Sai spoke softly. Naruto let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I got sidetracked." Sai sighed disapprovingly before leaving the room. Naruto shook his head at himself and turned to Hoshiko, who was trying to reach for a snack.

"Seems like Mommy's a bit mad at me." Naruto said as he grabbed the item Hoshiko was trying for and set it on the table.

"Maybe you can make him a sorry lunch." Hoshiko suggested. Naruto smiled. "That sounds great."

Sai was upset for reasons he wasn't even sure about. There were a few that he was very aware about, like Naruto's lateness and his aching back. But there was a feeling inside him, that he was pretty sure wasn't the baby or gas that made him feel upset. Sai could only blame it on the hormones, but if that wasn't the answer, he wasn't sure what was.

After think a bit more on the subject, Sai sighed and walked to his room. He was tired and he also felt the need to shower. The artist went to his closet and searched for something he could sleep comfortably in after he finished showering. He rustled through the clothing in search of his sleepwear. He heard noise in the background and assumed it was Naruto trying to apologize for making him upset. In fact, Sai was almost sure of it.

"Naruto, I'm not in the mood—" it was then that he saw a reptile he was sure only the Uchiha was able to summon outside the window, opening it and preparing to enter with that same blank stare as Sasuke when they'd first met at Orochimaru's lair.

"Uchiha!" Sai exclaimed, loudly.

"What the hell is going on?!" Naruto's voice echoed throughout the room, scaring the cold blooded creature away. Sai released a sigh of relief. Just a few more moments and he would have been gone or dead right there on the floor.

"It's nothing, Naruto-kun. Let's go to the kitchen. I'm sure Hoshiko's wondering what happened to us."

Sai should've felt relieved when he looked out the window again and the Uchiha summon hadn't returned. But he wasn't.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Dammit all!" The cry could be heard throughout the Uchiha mansion. Kakashi looked up from his book and at the erratic Uchiha. His pregnant former student paced up and down the room, occasionally moving small locks of hair from his face. Kakashi had watched Sasuke do this for a good ten minutes before he decided to set his book down and see what had the other in such a fit, besides the pregnancy.

"You're going to run a groove in the floor," Kakashi said and the Uchiha glared.

"Shut it, Hatake!"

Kakashi sighed and let a small smile grace his face from beneath the mask. "What's bothering you Sasuke? It's…usual for you to act so stressed out." The silver-headed ninja said, lifting his favorite novel back up to his nose.

Sasuke responded with his usual rudeness. "None of your business. You may be here to watch and observe me, but you don't need to know my life story," he hissed.

"Actually, I do. It makes my job much easier," the Jounin responded.

"Well, I'm sorry, but your _job_ is not my problem!" Sasuke practically yelled and continued to pace. Kakashi sighed. He decided that he would leave the matter be for now, but later the Uchiha would have to fess up.

In the other room, the second silver-headed man in the house shared a mood opposite of Sasuke's. He had to seal his lips to keep from shouting in glee. He now had almost enough information to reveal to the authorities. There was only so much more to collect and with each passing day, the Suigetsu found more and more to add to the collection.

"What are you so happy about?" Suigetsu heard come from his right. Startled, he turned, only to see Juugo.

"Oh, it's you. Weren't you supposed to buy Sasuke his foot cream? What are you doing here?" the shark man glared suspiciously at the other.

Juugo raised his hand to reveal the brown paper bag he was holding. "Why are you so happy?" Juugo asked, suspicious. "You've been a major ass for the last two months."

Suigetsu maintained his glare. "Why should I tell you? You aren't the boss of me."

Juugo raised his brow at the other's hostility. "I think you're up to something shady," said the bigger man. "But if you insist it is none of my business, so be it. Just don't come crying to me if you fuck up."

Suigetsu glowered. "As if…" he muttered and walked away from the room where Sasuke continued pacing. He frowned all the way to his room and didn't stop until he reached his chambers and securely locked the door.

"Just a bit more Sasuke," he softly murmured to himself. "Just a bit more and you'll rue the day you made me your little slave."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The family of three, soon to be four, settled in the dining room. Dinner had been served by Naruto as his "sorry" gift since the earlier lunch had been ruined by the unexpected quest. It had surprised both Naruto and Sai that through all the drama happening up the stairs, Hoshiko hadn't heard a thing. Sai had had concerns for his daughter's hearing, but quickly let the thought go when he remembered her favorite T.V. show had been on at the time.

It was silent at the dinner table. Excluding the occasional sounds of chewing and the clattering of silverware to plate, the meal was awkward.

Sai was the first to get up and leave. He couldn't stand the feeling of Naruto's worry and Hoshiko's carefree nature all in one sitting after what had just happened. The painter decided to leave the house though he knew it was risky.

Sai spent a good hour simply wandering around, not exactly sure what he wanted to do or where to go. His body subconsciously brought him to his best friend's, almost sister's, front door. He knocked before he could tell his body not to and as soon as he did, the door opened to reveal this pink-headed teammate.

"Sai! I haven't seen you a while. Please, come on in!" Sakura practically dragged the other into her home. Sai followed against his will into the kitchen of Sakura's home. "Mom, Sai is here!" She yelled up the stairs to the mother who responded with a simple affirmation.

"So what brings you here?" Sakura asked as she grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and began to pour juice into them. She handed one to Sai.

"Thanks. I'm not sure why I decided to come here. My body seemed to act on its own and brought me to your steps. But I went for a walk in the first place because I guess I was feeling sort of stressed." He smiled blandly.

Sakura replied to Sai's faux smile with a real one. "Stressed? What for?" she asked, "It's not good for you to be stressed when you're carrying."

Sai sighed. "I know. But I can't help it. I have this feeling that something is going to go wrong and I saw one of Sasuke's snakes at my window not even two hours ago." He confessed. Sakura gasped.

"Uchiha?! What does he want now?" Tsunade had told her about how her former crush had tried to break up Naruto and Sai, evaporating whatever respect for him she had left.

"I don't know, but it worries me. I don't want my child injured," Sai said as he stroked his round belly.

"Sai…" Sakura muttered and placed a hand over his. Sai remained silent through her comfort. It was difficult for him to form words.

"Can…is there anything I can do to help you?" Sakura asked after a minute of uncomfortable silence. The painter shook his head. There was nothing that would help ease this horrible feeling that was growing stronger with each passing moment.

"Are you sure? I hate seeing you like this."

"Could you take me home?" Sai asked. He didn't want to leave by himself with this uneasiness eating away at him.

"Sure." The strawberry blonde said and rose from her chair while holding onto the other's hands. Sai arose from his chair and began to follow the other out the house.

"Mom, I'm taking Sai home!" Sakura didn't bother waiting for a reply before shutting the door and walking side by side with him to the other side of town. The first half of the trail was quiet and boring. There were barely any noises and Sai was too upset and paranoid to strike a conversation. Sakura wasn't sure if she could handle any more silence. She was naturally a very talkative person and couldn't stay very quiet for long periods of time. Only on rare occasions had she managed to stay soundless.

Halfway back to the house, they ran into Shikamaru and Gai's teams heading towards Yakiniku Q's to celebrate another successful mission. Sakura, being the person she was, yelled over to the others to ask what they were doing and if they, Sai and herself, could join.

"Sakura!" Sai hissed. "What are you doing? You're supposed to take me home!" It wasn't like him to yell.

"Oh, come on. We'll be with other _trained and professional _ninja. There is no way that bad feeling of yours could possibly bother you there." Sai opened his mouth to complain once more but didn't have the opportunity when Sakura grabbed his hand and dragged him over to where the others where.

"Hey, Sai!" Ino smiled. "And hello to you too, Forehead Girl." The blonde smirked at Sakura.

Sakura grimaced. "Well hello, piglet," she shot back. The stress lines on Shikamaru's head began to show. "Would you two stop it? How troublesome…" He muttered the last line.

"Wow, Sai! You're getting bigger!" Lee exclaimed, staring at the painter's stomach as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Sai, of course, was a bit uncomfortable. "Uh…thank you?" he said and tried to escape from his "attacker."

"Lee, stop scaring Sai." Sakura smiled at her boyfriend. Lee stopped immediately. "Sorry Sai, Sakura." He said scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Come on guys, we have to get to Yakiniku before the best seats are taken!" Tenten said and began to walk towards the restaurant.

"Now we're talkin'!" Chouji exclaimed and began to follow. The rest sighed and shook their heads before tagging along. Sai's worry began to spike the further they went from Naruto and Hoshiko.

"Bring out the mega platter!" Chouji yelled to the waitress that passed, almost making her drop the fragile dishware in her hands. She nodded nervously and slid into the kitchen to prepare the meal quickly. Neji sighed while asking himself why he was there in the first place and why with them. The aggravation was plastered clear on his face as everyone else, excluding Sai, was chatting loudly and eating their guts out.

As mentioned Sai was not enjoying himself. His belly hurt and his head ached. His feet were also sore. And in the back of his mind, alarms were sounding. He needed to leave. But he was defenseless. He couldn't leave there unless someone was with him. Sai sighed. That would take some time.

"I'm going to the restroom." Sai whispered to Sakura. She nodded, but Sai was sure she was just trying to shoo him off so she could finish listening to Lee's story about curry. The artist rose from his seat and began to walk to the men's room. It was empty, which seemed strange to Sai, though he wasn't going to complain. He hated to answer questions about his stomach and how he was a pregnant male.

Sai finished relieving himself quickly. An unwelcoming presence was in the room. Just as he turned to wash his hands and leave, the snake once again appeared before him. And this time, there was no Naruto to save him.

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Hey, there! Sorry for not updating! I had a lot of research papers due to you and I had no time to write until now, because I'm on spring break, though I still have a project to complete over what is supposed to be a break! I know that the chapter was very short and after a long time of not updating I feel bad for giving this short chapter--and a cliffhanger--to you. But you'll get over it. Hopefully…

Any-who, why don't you guys click that nice review button for me and? It would make me VERY happy to hear what you guys think. If I get a lot of good reviews, I MIGHT make the next chapter longer than usual.


	8. Inside the Labyrinth Walls

Hey guys, here the next chapter to story. It was suppose to be long but…oh well. Hope it holds you over.

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"What do you want with me?" Sai asked blindly into the room. The energy of this place was different. So…dark.

"Shut up," the other voice boomed in the silent room. A chill ran down Sai's spine as he recognized the voice as the Uchiha's. "You know, you've really pissed me off lately. You have Naruto, while I couldn't. You'll have _two_ children by him, I'll only have one. _You_ replace _me_, yet _you_ have everything _I_ should. And I am fucking sick of it. I deserve everything you have. Naruto was mine before he was yours."

Sai gritted his teeth.

"_Deserve_? You tried to kill him. Twice! You were too focused on killing your brother to notice his love for you. But I did. You were so focused on revenge that you didn't notice the pain you caused him! But I saw it. And because that, we have what we have now." Sai snapped. He wasn't going to let Sasuke talk his shit without knowing what Naruto and he had to go through.

"Shut up!" Sasuke's voice once again boomed again before he slapped Sai. Hard. "You make another sound and I'll cut you open, kill that thing inside you, and make you watch."

Sai held his tongue, shuddering at the Uchiha's threat. He knew Uchiha Sasuke was cruel…but nothing like this.

"Now, I'll be going out, but I better not hear a thing out of you. And someone will be guarding you." Sai heard the Uchiha leave the room before someone else entered.

"…watch over this prisoner. Fuck, why do I have to do it?!" Wait…this voice sounded familiar…

"Suigetsu?" Sai called out hesitantly.

"Who the hell—Sai? Shit, that is you!" Suigetsu realized and ripped off Sai's blindfold none too gently.

"Thanks," Sai winced.

"Wow, I haven't seen you in while. How's it been?" Sai would have glared and slapped the man if he wasn't tied to chair. He settled for a look that said "what do you think, dumbass?"

The other returned Sai's expression with a confused one of his own. Only after a few moments did he realize his mistake.

"Oh, yeah…hehe, sorry." Suigetsu said sheepishly. Sai waved, or rather, nodded it off.

"So, could you tell me where I am?" Sai tried, though he doubted Suigetsu would tell him. To his surprise, the other began to glare aimlessly as soon as he asked the question.

"It's that damn Sasuke's fault. He doesn't like the fact that you're with Blondie and he wants revenge, even though he's a fucking retard and knows that he doesn't have a chance."

It was Sai's turn to be confused. "I thought you were in favor of the Uchiha's plans."

Suigetsu snarled. "Hell no," he hissed in a low voice, knowing Sasuke probably had the place wired. "I want to destroy him." Suigetsu whispered in a tone so low, Sai almost missed it.

"What?!" Sai returned in the same voice he was addressed with.

"You heard me!" the shark hissed and Sai shut up. "I want to ruin him. And you are going to help me." Suigetsu decided without Sai's consent. Sai wanted to object, but with ropes around his wrist and a very lethal man before him, he decided against it.

"What do I do?" Sai sighed and glanced in the other's direction.

"You can start by telling me how Sasuke fucked up your life." Suigetsu smiled and began to record the conversation from under his shirt.

"Of course, you already know how he tried to take Naruto from me. And now he was kidnapped me from my family and tied me to this chair in this place while I am carrying Naruto's child."

"Perfect," Suigetsu muttered to himself. "This is great. Thanks." The shark said and stood suddenly to leave. In a flash, the man was at the end of the corridor and up the stairs. Sai opened his mouth tell the other to come back and untie him, but the other was long gone.

"I'll just wait here!" he yelled wryly.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"You've been acting very strange lately, Sasuke. Is there something you'd like to tell me?" Kakashi asked from behind the mask and book that hid the lower portion of his face. Lately, he had been noticing that Sasuke would leave to "use the bathroom" often, and though that was normal for a pregnant individual to do, the amount of time the Uchiha had spent in there was well over the norm. Kakashi was pretty sure the other was hiding something significant from him.

As a response the silver-headed man's question, the Uchiha simply glared. "Nothing that concerns you, _sensei._" Sasuke said, using the title sarcastically. Kakashi, being used to Sasuke's rude nature, ignored the sarcasm and decided to take a more straight forward approach.

"I know you're hiding something, Sasuke. Now you can tell me what it is that you are keeping secret, or you can continue your little game. But I warn you: if I find that what you're hiding, Tsunade will make _sure_ your life is hell." Kakashi warned with eyes stern that spoke with seriousness and promise.

Sasuke's glare didn't let up, though he did feel a small shiver run through his spine. Something told him that Kakashi wasn't joking around.

"Whatever…" Sasuke said and faced away from the other.

~*~*~*~*~*

The office was crowded, which irritated the shark. Naturally, he wasn't a very patient man and waiting in this office was wearing his patience thinner than usual. "Dammit, it shouldn't take this long to be fucking called on," he mumbled to no one but himself. Just as soon as the words had left his mouth, three people stepped into the waiting room. Two blondes and a strawberry blonde. All three he found very familiar looking. It was then he realized…

"Hey! Blondie, is that you?!" the man exclaimed. Naruto looked over at the other and his eyes widened.

"Suigetsu?" Naruto said in a tone Suigetsu wasn't sure was good or not.

"Yeah! Hey, you got a minute? I really need to talk to you an' granny in there." He pointed to the office Tsunade was seconds away from entering.

"I heard that that, brat!" she yelled at Suigetsu for calling her "granny."

"I don't know…we are kind of busy. See, Sai he—"

"Sai! That is what I wanted to talk to ya about. C'mon!" Suigetsu said and pushed his way through the crowd with Naruto dragging behind him.

Once behind the doors, an irritated Hokage and her emotionally distressed pink-haired apprentice stared (glared in Tsunade's case) at Suigetsu as he took a seat and got comfortable. Naruto watched patiently as Suigetsu sat and waited for the information he had to share.

"So…what is it about Sai that you wanted to tell us?" Naruto asked and eyes of the females in the room widened.

"Sai! Where is he?!" Sakura asked frantically. She'd been on edge ever since she noticed that Sai had gone missing from Yakiniku.

"You better get to talking, boy!" Tsunade growled. Suigetsu put his hands up in a defensive manner. "Cool your jets. I'll tell you all I know if you help me in return." The shark bargained.

Naruto became furious at the mere thought of Sai's wellbeing and life being used as a means to an end.

"Just who the hell do you think you are trying to use Sai's life like he's some kind of tool!?" Naruto yelled as he stalked over to Suigetsu and grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Calm down, gaki," Tsunade said and began to rub circles on the temple of her head. "What is it that you want?" she asked while facing the silver-haired man.

"Baa-chan! You just going to let him get away with treating Sai like that?!"

"We have no other choice. He's our only lead on Sai's location. So we'll just have to accept his terms." She turned to Suigetsu once more.

"Thanks Hokage-sama." Suigetsu started with a smirk. "My conditions are simple. I want you to help me bust Uchiha."

~*~*~**~*~

Sai began to twitch slightly from being bound for so long. And that wasn't his only problem.

"—and you know, Sasuke-kun is _so_ much better than anyone else alive. You may look a bit like him, but he is so much better than you." After Juugo's shift ended, Karin was sent to guard him. And, by Kami, she was annoying.

"Is that all you think about? Some shit-for-brains who played catcher to Orochimaru?" Sai muttered, mainly to himself, though loud enough for the redhead to hear.

"What was that?!" she snapped and grabbed the man by his collar. "Sasuke-kun is great and deserves all the praise I give him!" Karin yelled, shaking him. Sai winced as the rope around his chest and wrist began to grind painfully against his skin as the other continued her rant.

"Why do you like the Uchiha so much? Is it because you opened your legs to him as well?" Sai felt himself revert back into his crude and insensitive self at the wrong time. It would have been fun to piss this bitch off like he once did Sakura if it wasn't for the fact he was responsible for more than just his own life.

"You little—!" Karin's rage prevented her from being able to think or even speak well enough to think of an insult for Sai.

"You should watch it, four-eyes. I'm sure the Uchiha ordered you not to cause me any harm. That would ruin his little plan." Sai wasn't sure what scheme he was speaking of, but he knew Karin would fall for anything that had the Uchiha's name in it.

"Ah! Wha—?! Ugh!!" Karin let out a noise of frustration and roughly released the brunet's shirt. Inwardly, Sai released a breath of relief, but on the outside he smiled like the sociopath many though he was.

"Just you wait, you little wannabe. In a matter of time, you'll be out of the picture and I'll get the last laugh."

Sai raised a smiling brow. "Whatever do you mean?"

Karin smirked. "Did you really think that you're here for kicks? You're gonna be long gone once that demon boy and—dare I say—my Sasuke-kun get together to revive his clan. Once that happens, you're going to be disposed of."

Sai's eyes widened.

Karin smirked. "Hit a nerve, didn't I? Ha!!"

"Naruto…" Sai whispered to himself, hoping that this was some sort of sick prank or nightmare and he would wake at the end with a sigh of relief. But that hope was in vain.

~*~~*~*~*~

"Sasuke, tell me now." Kakashi cornered the raven-haired man. He became tired of the Uchiha's suspicious actions. He knew he was harboring something in the mansion without his permission. Today, he was going to get some answers, somehow.

"I don't have to tell you anything, _sensei_." Sasuke tried to leave the corner he was trapped in, but Kakashi blocked him.

"Move." Sasuke commanded but Kakashi didn't budge. "I said move!" Sasuke said again with a raised voice.

"I don't believe you are the position to order me around, Sasuke." Kakashi spoke, all meanings possible.

The Uchiha simply glared. "Let me go, Hatake. I don't have to show you anything!" Sasuke yelled as his eyes began to burn bright red with the Sharingan.

Kakashi smirked at the boy. "So you _are_ hiding something?"

Sasuke flinched slightly. "Stop making a fool of me."

"Speak for yourself. Now are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to do this myself?"

Sasuke glared at the Jounin. "Go fuck yourself." He insisted and pushed the other away to make an escape. Kakashi watched the small man go and shock his head. "Ever the hardhead, eh Sasuke?" He said to himself and went to search the building alone.

The Jounin searched the eastern and northern halves of the mansion without any luck. Kakashi found that this place had more hidden corridors than Orochimaru had in all his hideouts combined, and he had only combed through half of the Uchiha estate. With a sigh and a sullen look, the Copy Nin reluctantly traveled to the western end of the building. The only sounds he could hear were the steadiness of his breath and the clanks of his foot against floor. Nothing more.

That was until he rounded the corner and traveled down a hallway that looked as if it hadn't been travelled in many years. The muffled sounds of yelling reached Kakashi's ears as he continued his trek down the hall. With each step, he could hear them become louder and louder. It wasn't until he reached the second door to the end that he realized that the voice was coming from underneath the floor boards. The voice was still soft, but it loud enough for the nin to know the voice was clearly female and she sounded more than pissed.

Kakashi opened the door and looked at the stairs that descended down below the ground levels of the mansion. He walked with caution as he followed the path of the stairs to the angry voice. Now that he was closer, he recognized the voice of Karin, the last Uchiha's groupie.

It took a moment for Kakashi's visible eye to adjust once he arrived at the end of the stairway. Not too long after it had, Kakashi followed the voice a few more steps until he came face to face with the sight of Karin looming above a swollen and frightened Sai.

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Review Dammit! _**I WANT REVIEWS!! **_


	9. Losing What Was Found

"Sasuke, open this fucking door!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs as he banged violently at the delicate door. Moments later, the door was flung open just as forcefully.

The Uchiha growled slightly at the small crowd at his front step. Behind Naruto stood the Hokage, Sakura, and three ANBU agents.

"You know why we are here Sasuke. We know that have been holding Sai captive here," Tsunade spoke firmly. "Now, let us in, or we'll use force." The ANBU took an offensive stance, showing that the Hokage wasn't bluffing.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed further as he scanned every face in the small bunch. "Go ahead and try. You'll never find what you are looking for." He smirked and stepped aside.

And then he saw Suigetsu walking in after them.

Suigetsu smirked and slid past the Uchiha, who was too stunned to speak.

"Are you sure you know where you're going, Suigetsu? This place is like a maze," Naruto whispered to the silver-haired man before him.

"I wouldn't have brought you here without knowing where to go, Blondie. Just shut up and follow." Naruto scowled, but continued to follow. Tsunade signaled the ANBU to be ready for anything.

Suigetsu led the visitors through a long corridor before they came to the door that Kakashi had long entered. Familiar voices flowed up the stairway as they walked down.

"He's here, I can smell it!" Naruto hissed. The jinchuuriki stepped in front of Suigetsu and rushed into the room where Sai sat with Karin and Kakashi. Naruto watch as Karin cowered under Kakashi's glare and Sai looked troubled as he tried to struggle loose from the ropes that bound him.

"Sai!" he called out and hurried to his lover's side. Sai's uneasy eyes turned in the direction of his fiancé's voice, eyes widening.

"Naruto—"

"Sai!"

"—about time dickless."

Naruto's eye twitched, his movement halted by the Sai's usual comment. "W-wha? I'm here to save you, dammit!"

Sai smiled sweetly at the blonde.

"Thank you, Naruto." He leaned to kiss Naruto's cheek as best as he could. Naruto smiled. Their moment was interrupted by the booming voice of Tsunade when she addressed the Uchiha (who had just made it down the stairs) and the rest of his gang, excluding Juugo who for some reason wasn't there.

"Uchiha Sasuke, Karin, and Hoozuki Suigetsu, you are all coming with me to the interrogation squad. You," Tsunade ordered one of the three ANBU, "locate Juugo and bring him in." The blonde busty woman's eye glanced towards Kakashi.

"Kakashi, you'll have to be questioned too." The silver-haired Jounin raised a brow, and then sighed. "I guess it's necessary. I'll go." He walked after the ANBU who was already "escorting" Karin and Sasuke from the building.

"Sai," Tsunade voiced as she watched the other's leave. "You'll have to be questioned as well."

Naruto fumed. "What? He was just held captive! You expect him to go over there and—"

"Naruto." Sai interrupted. "It's fine. I can handle a few questions." Sai spoke with a straight face though his voice held so much passion. Naruto couldn't help but comply and let Sai do as he wished.

"Fine, but be careful. I'll be right there in the building," Naruto replied, his face somber.

"Naruto—" Sai tried to tell the other that it wasn't necessary but Naruto wasn't taking any nonsense.

"I can't lose you again. I'll be in that building." Sai sighed but nodded. Naruto was just so stubborn sometimes, but the painter couldn't say that he didn't like it. It was very comforting to know that Naruto cared.

"Alright, let's go." Within minutes, the house became vacant once again.

Hoshiko sat, bored as she drummed her figures against the hard wooden surface of the coffee table. She looked up at her babysitter, Yamato, and watched as he crafted yet another wooden decoration for the house. Even in Hoshiko's young, almost four-year-old eyes, the house looked a bit tacky with almost everything made of wood.

The young girl signed for umpteenth time. It was only then that the ANBU saw Hoshiko's bored expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that you're a child. Children like to play right? How about we make some wooden dolls?"

Hoshiko groaned and planted her face onto the coffee table. "You and your wood!" She roared though the table.

Yamato sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I suppose I am a bit of a tree-hugger," he said, chuckling at his own joke. Hoshiko lifted her head, "you think?" written all over her face.

"Sorry, Sorry! I just couldn't help myself. I know! How about I teach you a new jutsu so that we won't have to sit in the house all day."

Hoshiko's face instantly brightened. "Really?"

Yamato nodded and she literally jumped for joy.

"But you have to promise me one thing."

Hoshiko looked back and glared at the man, though it looked more like a pout. "What?"

"You have to promise me that you won't tell your mother that you learned the jutsu form me, okay? He nearly bit my head off last time for teaching you something." Yamato shuddered at the memory. And he had thought he himself was scary! Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones…

Hoshiko nodded vehemently. "Of course!" She scampered off to ready herself. Yamato shook his head, rubbing his temple. "That girl will be the death of me." He laughed and went to get ready as well.

"Answer the question! You intended to get rid of Sai, didn't you?" Ibiki slammed his closed fist on the tabletop as he questioned the last Uchiha. Sasuke simply glared and remained unresponsive. He knew there was nothing they could do to him. He was the last Uchiha and he was also pregnant. Surely they'd at least spare his child…

"Fine, you want to sit here all day, not my problem. But know this: you aren't leaving until we get answers." The man said and left the room, most likely to find some backup. Sasuke didn't care. The Uchiha just wanted to leave and kick that traitor Suigetsu's ass.

"I don't know why. I've told you all I know." Sai tried to maintain a steady tone. He was tired, aching, and now annoyed. What would the interrogation squad not believe anything a kidnapping victim said?

"They could've tampered with his mind," one of the men said to the other in a hushed voice, though Sai could still hear them. The other squad member shrugged and went to retrieve the clipboard that hung near the door.

"It says here, Sai, that the Uchiha is…pregnant? Pregnant with Naruto's child. Is that true?" The man asked.

"Yes. Why is that relevant?"

"Well…we know how you must feel. Angry, upset…perhaps seeking revenge."

Sai's eyes widened slightly before they turned downward in disgust.

"Are you accusing me of plotting this whole situation? I may be an ex-ROOT, but I'm not so low as to do such as thing. I'd be endangering my child's life by doing so and for you to even_think—_"

"That's enough. Stop harassing him, he's been through enough." Tsunade ordered through the intercom. Sai's eyes remained thin even after the interrogators left the room. It was insulting to the artist that those men would even assume such a thing from him. The brunet groaned as he felt a headache coming on. This day was not treating Sai well.

Naruto was growing anxious. Sai was in there being interrogated and he hadn't come out for quite some time. It worried him even more when Tsunade hadn't given him any details on what was happening either. It was almost as nerve wrecking as Hoshiko's birth.

"Naruto, stop pacing. You'll ruin the floor." Sakura tried to persuade the blonde for the eighth time just to sit down and wait patiently. Naruto, being as stubborn as he was, shook his head vigorously and continued to pace.

"Not until I get word one about Sai." Sakura sighed and tried to relax herself. Someone needed to be calm when their teammate came out.

Another hour passed and Tsunade walked out of the door that led to the interrogation halls. Following her was Sai and Sasuke along with Taka. Sakura was first to notice the six as they left the interrogation. Naruto, however, was wandering around trying to fight off his anxiety so he didn't notice them.

"Tsunade-shishou! Sai!" Sakura rose and walked over to them. Sasuke and the members of Taka (except for Suigetsu) were handcuffed. Sakura approached her former crush, atmosphere tense as they glared each other down before…

Sakura spat in his face. Sasuke flinched ever-so-slightly, fuming. Not only had Sakura gotten his eye, but because he was handcuffed, he couldn't even wipe his face. Tsunade, Kakashi, and the ANBU pretended not to notice.

Satisfied, Sakura turned towards Sai and immediately welcomed him with a warm hug as the others were escorted out.

"Thank goodness you're alright," she whispered. Sai returned her embrace as soon as he got over the momentary shock. His body, though he had not been the Uchiha's basement for long, was still wary of contact.

"Sorry," Sakura apologized after she felt Sai jerk at the contact. Sai shook his head. "No need to apologize," he said before retreating from the hug. He smiled at his "sister" and took a look around, frowning.

"Where is Naruto?" He asked and took another look around to make sure he hadn't missed the bright mop of hair in his quick sweep of the room.

Sakura also turned to look. "Oh, yeah. He went to get some air. He was getting pretty anxious. He should be back soon." Sai nodded and went to take a seat. His legs ached and he could still feel that migraine pounding.

The pink-haired girl decided to stay with Sai and wait for Naruto's return. It took only a few moments before Naruto spotted Sai. His face brightened and his feet hastily made their way over to his fiancé before he lifted him and spun him around.

"Sai! You're alright!" he exclaimed and then came to abrupt stop. He put his lover down and inspected his face and hands.

"They didn't touch you, did they?" he asked, though it sounded more like a demand.

"Of course not." Sai said.

"Good. Let's go home." Naruto said and grabbed Sai's hand, leading him out of the room. Sai, between being pulled out of the room and trying to maintain his balance as he was being dragged, turned to wave goodbye to Sakura, who simply giggled and waved as well.

As soon as the couple closed the door to their house, Naruto showed Sai just how much he missed him.

"Where's Hoshiko?" Sai asked as he walked into the kitchen after a long few hours of afternoon "activities." Naruto walked up behind his love dressed in nothing but a lose pair of pants and took a sip of Sai's juice before replying.

"At Yamato-sensei's. I dropped her off there after I noticed you were missing." Naruto said. Sai hummed his response.

"We can go pick her up later. I'm sure she is dying to see you."

Sai laughed. "Let's hope she is not. I wouldn't appreciate my daughter dying." Sai said, half teasing Naruto by taking it literally. The blonde simply chuckled and embraced Sai.

"Maybe we should go fetch her now." Naruto went to dress in order to go get Hoshiko.

"Yes, let's do that."

"You almost got it!" Yamato rooted the girl on as she tried to make a flower bud on the plant.

Hoshiko strained as she tried to focus more chakra to grow the plant. Yamato couldn't help but feel proud of the girl for being able to successfully grow a plant in such a short amount of time.

"You're doing great, Hoshiko." Yamato spoke, sitting across from his young ward.

"Oi, oi! Yamato-sensei! Where are you?" Yamato cursed as Naruto's voice shattered the moment. He should have known the peace wouldn't have lasted long, not as long as Uzumaki Naruto was around.

"Back here Naruto!" Yamato decided to save the blond and himself the trouble. Quickly, the ANBU member told Hoshiko to stop practicing her jutsu and act normal, which she did as Naruto rounded the corner with Sai in tow. Hoshiko noticed Sai immediately then got up and ran top speed over to the "mother" she hadn't seen in almost a day.

"Mommy! I'm so glad your back!" She exclaimed into Sai's legs. Sai smiled and returned the embrace to the best of his abilities. "I am also glad to see that you are fine." Sai spoke in a light tone. Hoshiko smiled into Sai's leg and tightened her grasp. "I'll never let you go now." She said and Naruto snickered.

"That's be problem…especially when me and Sai are—"

"Naruto!" Sai sharply cut the blond off before he could ruin their daughter's innocence.

"Hehe…sorry." Naruto sheepishly replied. Yamato shook his head and turned to the family in his yard. "Well, I don't mean to sound rude, but you guys should be leaving now. I have to leave soon and well, I don't want anyone in my home when I have to leave."

"Oh. We better get goin' then." Naruto said and rounded up his family. Yamato waved his goodbyes and watched the three leave. As soon as they were out of sight he released the breath he had been holding and fell to the ground.

"Finally!"

After arriving home, Sai went to work making tonight's dinner. Hoshiko and Naruto opted to instead go do other things, like work on jutsu. After an hour, the three came to the dinner table to eat. Hoshiko talked about what she had learned from Yamato-sensei as Sai frowned upon what he heard. Naruto listened in interest and amazement while his daughter carried on about how she was learning "really super cool and awesome" jutsus.

Before long, it was nearly nine in the evening. Naruto and Sai had settled on the sofa and Hoshiko fought sleep between them. Sai looked down at his daughter and smiled.

"She's asleep."

Naruto turned to look. His lips also turned upward. "Yeah. I'll go take her to bed." He said and shimmied his way off the couch and up the stairs with Hoshiko in his arms. Naruto couldn't help but admire Sai's and his offspring as he tucked her into the bed and kiss her forehead goodnight. Just as he turned to leave, small hands curled around his large wrist, silently begging him to stay for a bit longer. The blonde couldn't deny his daughter that. With a light chuckle and a few shifts and pushes, Naruto laid comfortably next to Hoshiko as she slept and tried to get some shuteye himself.

Down in the living room Sai sat not so comfortably on the sofa. He tried sitting in many different positions, but nothing helped the ache he felt in his lower regions or the restlessness in his legs. After another eight minutes trying to find the perfect pose, the artist stood and began to walk slowly to the kitchen. _Maybe I could clean to make myself sleepy, _Sai thought and went to get right to it.

He started with the dishes, and then the floors. Just as the painter was placing the dry dinnerware in their respectable places, a sharp pain soared through the man's lower body, concentrated in his pelvic region.

Sai grunted in pain. _Why is this happening? It can't be labor! I'm barely seven months, _Sai panicked as he grasped the countertop to ease the pain.

Sai's breathing quickly began to labor. The pain struck again and again, each with more force than the last.

"N-Na..ruto!" He tried to call out, but it came as more of a squeal. Another grunt arouse from the man's throat before his eyes snapped open as something moist began to roll down his leg. Fearfully, Sai looked down to see red beads and steams of thick liquid rolling down his legs and collecting on the floor in a small puddle of blood.

"Nar—"Was all Sai could muster before he felt his energy began to drain rapidly from his body. Consciousness slipped from Sai as he exclaimed his lover's name once more before collapsing on the bloodstained floor.

_Naruto…_


	10. Let's Exchange the Experience

Hey, long time not write! Here is the next chapter of the story. Sorry, for the long wait. Summer work is a bitch. My beta and I also had to fix a few things with the chapter that I was not too happy about. I promise the next chapter will be longer…about nine or more pages on Microsoft Word. Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

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Pain…

So much pain…

Had he the strength to cry or scream, he would. But his strength had failed him. His mind screamed, but his mouth struggled to even whisper.

_Naruto_…

The painter groaned as he felt something prick his arm and he opened his eyes to multiple nurses. The nurse who injected the needle was the first the notice him stir and greeted him gently.

"You're up."

Sai watched her as she work, wondering what was happening. The last thing he remembered was collapsing on the kitchen floor and—"M-my baby…?"

"Your child is still alive, fortunately for both of you. You'd lost so much blood yet it somehow clung to life." Sai relaxed.

But she wasn't done: "Your son is alive, but he is in intensive care. He's three months premature, his lungs are barely developed, and he's smaller than we would like. You're allowed to visit, but for now it's best that you recover." The nurse concluded and turned to exit with her team.

"Haruno-san will be here in a moment's time. Please try to stay awake for her." Sai couldn't believe it. What was with him and these frequent hospital stays?

_At least my son is alive._

His son. It felt good knowing that his child was alive and even better to know what it was now. Life had been too stressful for him know his child's gender before. In fact, life had been too stressful for many things.

_Like our wedding,_Sai thought resignedly.

"Sai," someone called to him. The artist looked up to see his friend and nurse enter the room holding a clipboard and a pen.

"Sakura." Sai greeted with his usual smile. Sakura donned a smile of her own, though hers wasn't as cheery. Sai watched as she set the items in her hand on the stand near the foot of the bed and made her way closer to the head of his bed, where she stood for a good ten seconds before pulling the man into a tight but warm embrace.

"Sai…" she whispered as he gave her a hug of his own. To his surprise, Sai could feel her tears on his cheek and neck.

Eventually, the medic's tears dried and her breaths evened. She drew back from the hug and recomposed herself until she appeared as if she'd hadn't be upset at all.

"I don't understand why you cried, Sakura. My son…he is alive." Sai said in a small voice. Sakura let out a shaky sigh.

"I don't know why either. Maybe…maybe it's because you've suffered enough. If it'd been me…" Sakura didn't have to finish her sentence. It was apparent what she would have said, that she would've broken long before she would even have her first child.

"Sakura…"

"Mommy!" Sai's eyes shot in the direction of the voice.

"Hoshiko…!" he exclaimed, though it came out as more of a croak, and sat up to receive his daughter's hug. Hoshiko jumped onto his bed, the impact sending them flat against the bed Sai had just sat up from. The ex-ROOT ran his hands through his daughter's soft black locks.

"Sai." The artist looked up and smiled when he saw Naruto in the doorway.

"I'm so glad you're ok…" Naruto walked over to his family and joined in the hug. "I was so worried when I heard you fall and I saw you lying there."

He really was. He'd heard a thump when Sai fell to the ground and had immediately taken him to the hospital when he saw the blood, causing a big scene when he burst through the doors and demanding that somebody help Sai. After they took him away, Naruto stayed in the waiting room, only leaving to retrieve Hoshiko, who'd been sleeping soundly throughout the whole ordeal.

"I don't know what I would do if I lost both of you…" Naruto murmured, thinking also of his premature son.

"I…I don't know what I'd do either." Sai replied.

Kakashi entered Sasuke's room. Outwardly, the jounin's face remained laidback, but inwardly, there was an inner turmoil that he hadn't experienced in years. He had heard about what happened to Sai the night before and now he was absolutely furious. And after everything the Uchiha had already done: leaving the village, defecting to Orochimaru, nearly killing Naruto (twice), tricking Naruto into siring a child, now this…

Sasuke had long been dead to Kakashi. That was why the Jounin had gained the Mangekyou after his defection. But now…Kakashi was at the point where all compassion was lost, where he would do anything to break his once favorite student, in a way that truly mattered.

And thanks to the decision Tsunade made concerning Sasuke's unborn child, he had that opportunity.

"_You summoned me, Hokage-sama?" _

"_Yes, I did. Have a seat Kakashi." She said, motioning to a chair. After the silver-haired man silently complied, the blond woman set her stamp and document down and sighed. Being Hokage wasn't easy on her. Had she not been under a jutsu, her stress wrinkles would have been present._

"_Kakashi, as you know, Uchiha Sasuke is with child." Kakashi nodded at the information he had known for quite some time which Tsunade took as a sign to continue. "You are also aware that due to his actions against Naruto and Sai that he must be punished. Sasuke has been on thin ice since he reentered the village. His punishment should be severe, but seeing as he is pregnant, our usual punishment cannot be carried out." Tsunade took a breath and placed her chin on her intertwined fingers. "So, after much deliberation, I have come up with a solution to this problem. And that's where _you_ come in." _

"_I see. What is my part in Sasuke's punishment?"_

"_You'll be the one to raise the child once we remove it from Sasuke's custody." _

_Kakashi's visible eye widened. _"_Me, Hokage-sama?"_

_"Yes. We cannot let Sasuke keep that child, so I want you to take full custody of it. At first, I considered rendering all custody to Naruto, since it's his child as well, but I get the impression that he wants nothing to do with it." That much was certain months ago when she saw the blonde storm out after hearing of Sasuke's pregnancy. And how ever since, Naruto refused to even come in voluntary contact with the Uchiha._

"_I also thought of you because the child Sasuke has conceived may obtain the Sharingan and since you too can use the bloodline, it would be wise to leave the child with someone loyal to the village who can both care for it and train it to use its abilities to the fullest."_

_A tense and uncertain silence followed Tsunade's speech as Kakashi let everything the Godaime told him sink in. Minutes later, the Jounin made his decision._

"_I'll do it." _

_Tsunade let out a sigh of relief and smiled tiredly._

"_Excellent."_

Yes, he had the perfect way to break the Uchiha.

Now he just had to think of the right place and time—

"If you're just gonna stand there, then just get out." Sasuke snarled, bringing Kakashi's thoughts into focus.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but last time I checked, you were in no position to order anyone around."

Sasuke's scowl deepened. It was true. After he'd been detained for the incident with Sai, his chakra had been cut off, along with any chances of living unsupervised by ANBU. In fact, judging from the sneers Tsunade kept giving him (and the way she snarled "whore" under her breath as she walked out), Sasuke suspected that were it not for his pregnancy, the Godaime would've beaten him to a bloody pulp.

He was a pariah, in all but name.

"C'mon, Sasuke. We're going to the hospital." Kakashi grabbed Sasuke, making their way to the most used building in Konoha.

Sai watched his son through thick glass. Behind him stood Naruto and to his left, Hoshiko. Sai was currently sitting in a wheelchair since the staff didn't want him walking just yet.

Sai watched the as his son's chest rose and fell forcefully do to the machines and tube connected to him in the incubator. It was saddening to see and know that his child's life depended on them.

A hand on the brunet's shoulder gave him some comfort. He knew it was Naruto's by the warmth and size. Sai rested his hand on top the other's.

"Is...that my brother?" Hoshiko asked softly. She turned to her parents and they nodded.

"Yes. That's him," Naruto answered.

"What's his name?" Hoshiko asked. Sai and Naruto tensed at the question. They hadn't thought of one. They weren't expecting their child for another three months and even then, their child's gender had been unknown to them. So what would they name their son?

"We don't know yet." Naruto said. "But don't worry. Your brother won't go nameless!" the blonde flashed his signature smile at his daughter who smiled a twin Cheshire.

"Of course not." Sai agreed as he watched his son ball his fingers into a fist. "We just need the perfect name."

"I don't understand why you dragged me here." Sasuke grunted. Kakashi ignored him as he signed them in as visitors. After completing the form, he dragged the Uchiha towards the elevators and to the maternity floor. Once the door opened to let the two off, Kakashi headed towards a glass room with a very reluctant Sasuke following behind.

"What are we doing here? Did you drag me here to—?" Sasuke stopped himself as his gaze averted to what Kakashi was staring at through the glass. There he saw Naruto and Sai and their daughter behind another window. But what were they doing looking at…

"Is that their baby?" he thought out loud.

Kakashi nodded. "They almost lost him. The medics say it was due to stress."

Sasuke needed no elaboration; he knew he was the reason Sai was under that stress. And though the Uchiha would never admit it, he did feel some guilt deep down.

"Is that the only reason you brought me here?" Sasuke growled to cover his real feelings.

Kakashi shook his head. "I wanted to show you this so you'll truly understand what I'm about to say."

The Uchiha raised his brow.

"Tsunade has reached a decision in you and your team's punishment for your crimes. I brought you here to tell you of your punishment." Kakashi paused as he turned to look at Sasuke in the eyes. "After you give birth, you will not be allowed custody or contact with your child."

Sasuke's eyes widened, his hands on his distended belly. No, no…_no!_His family…his family was being taken away again…he was losing his family once again…

He quickly turned away from his former sensei and stormed out, in a vain attempt to hide his tears.

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REVIEW! I NEED YOUR REVIEWS!


	11. One More Day

I'm BACK! Hahah! I'm soooooooooooooooooo sorry for taking so long to update. I've been in this writer's block/lazy ass mood for the last….few months….yeah, I have no excuse. But here is the last chapter.

Anyways, I** REALLY** hope you enjoy. I worked really hard on this. The ending isn't the best, but I've never been good at endings.

NOW BETA-ED! Thanks Belletrist Word Salad! 3

-:-

When it came to emotions, any one could say that the Uchiha didn't know squat about any…except maybe anger. One glance at the man, and the eternal scowl that marred his face told his tale and more. Recent events had not made the Sharingan holder any less hostile or unapproachable. Even his own housemates deemed him (even more of) a danger to be around.

Hence why the Uchiha sat alone in the garden. His aura seemed to scare away the surrounding vegetation; even weeds refused to grow.

It was a sad sight to watch indeed; the once proud and noble Uchiha heir reduced to tears and tantrums. It would be inhumane to say that he didn't deserve to let the emotions he kept contained within to be let out every so often, but the scene Sasuke was creating…it was almost hilarious in its absurdity.

Nothing escaped his rapid rampage; if something came to close, it faced a heavy price. Even the toughest of ninja would have been begging for mercy if they dared to cross the Uchiha during his fits.

This was why Suigetsu decided to stand clear of Sasuke. His assignment had been to try and calm raven man enough so they (they being other shinobi) could escort him back inside and out of harm's way (though it would seem Sasuke was the only one causing any harm at the moment).

Instead, Suigetsu decided to take a walk beginning near the gates of Konoha. Yes, there were a lot of memories here. In this short time, a bit over a year, much had happened, yet it seemed as if it all had been in a matter of days. The same shops, same children, same trees, and grass; their looks only matured and grew older by a fraction and their routines remained the same as the day Suigetsu stepped foot into the humble village. They were either oblivious to the all the trouble Naruto, Sasuke and Sai were in (or causing) or they were very mindful of their own business. Whatever it was, Suigetsu wished he had what they did. He could use a restful night's sleep.

Sighing and putting all thoughts aside, Suigetsu walked around the town for the better part of the morning and well into the afternoon. In fact, it was sunset before the nin received a summon for his return back to the Uchiha mansion. What surprised Suigetsu about his summon was that it seemed urgent.

Upon his arrival to the mansion, Suigetsu witnessed firsthand what the sudden and urgent summon was about.

"Oh shit…"

-:-

"Baby brother~! Baby broth~er…" Hoshiko sang as she watched her kin through the thick and holed glass. He was progressively becoming stronger and bigger. He no longer required assistance breathing. It had been about two months since his premature birth. Since then many things happened. The small family of three (now four) moved into a slightly larger home. This house had more bedrooms and a larger living area. It also had quite a spacious yard as well. The money wasn't easy to come by. The couple was lucky to have had Danzo on their good side for he helped pay for the new house. His only request was to have Hoshiko and their son, once he was out of the hospital and well, come over more often for visits. Of course the old man did not say such a thing in those exact words for his pride would not let him, but Sai grasped the gist of it in the message.

Hoshiko watched as her brother opened his eyes. They shined like the clear morning sky. She gasped as his gaze fell onto her, and then smiled.

"Hi baby brother." She smiled and waved. The small child, in return, continued to gaze at his elder sister. He couldn't do much other than that. She didn't mind though. Hoshiko was just happy she was able to see him. She looked back at her mom and dad talking to a nurse outside of the room. In a few days, they would be able to take her little brother home.

To say she was excited was an understatement.

"I can't wait 'til you get out of here." Hoshiko grinned and laughed when she saw what she liked to believe was a smile from her brother.

-:-

Suigetsu couldn't exactly claim that he was surprised when he arrived back the Uchiha mansion to the Uchiha in labor. ANBU where gathered around the male, clueless as to what do next. Suigetsu would have laughed had he not heard a pained groan fall from Sasuke's lips. Hastily, the shark boy strode to Sasuke's side and lifted him gently.

"Hey, we need to get to the hospital. One of you needs to warn the Hokage we are coming or something; make yourselves useful," he ordered and hurried as fast as he could with the heavily pregnant and in labor Uchiha in his grasp.

Once inside the lobby of the usually crowed building, the staff was ready to accept Sasuke from Suigetsu and demanded he stay in the waiting room and away from the birth in general.

"Hmph! Like I wanna see Sasuke givin' birth anyway…" Suigetsu snorted and sat not so soundly in the uncomfortable waiting chairs. He could tell this was going to be a long day and wait.

-:-

The family of four all sat in a comfortable silence around the fourth member's bassinette. The auburn haired boy lay quiet, as he was asleep. Sai stroked the side of his face tenderly. It had been a long week but here they were, all home and comfortable.

Well, as comfortable as they could be.

Sasuke was still a problem. He may have not been presently harassing them or anything of that sort, but his punishment still needed to be carried out. Kakashi had been visiting the Uchiha home lately in order to prepare Sasuke for separation from his child. The Uchiha's resulting mood could be felt from even the furthest corners of Konoha, affecting the Uzumaki family as well.

'_Hm…could I really refer to myself as an Uzumaki?'_Sai wondered. Even after all of this time, the engagement had never fully turned to marriage. Just too much had distracted the two lovers from making it official.

With the thought in mind, Sai turned to Naruto and softly grasped his hand. Once Naruto's attention as gained, Sai spoke softly.

"I was wondering…" Sai started, took a deep breath, and looked at his blue-eyed lover.

"Yes?" Naruto encouraged. Hoshiko, who had been listening to her parents chat, was also curious as to what her 'mother' had on his mind.

"-when we could make 'us' official." Both Hoshiko and Naruto's eyes widened, both from shock though for different reasons.

"You two never got married?" Hoshiko exclaimed in a whisper, since her baby brother was still asleep. Naruto's response was a bit different.

"You mean to tell me…?" He was in shock; after all this time, he was just realizing that Sai and he had never actually tied the knot.

"Sai…" he whispered and clenched the hand a bit harder. "I…I'll make it a priority to see that it is done." He smiled reassuringly and Sai returned it with one of his rare, not-so-creepy happy smiles.

Hoshiko smiled as well and turned to her baby brother.

"You hear that, Minato? Mommy and Daddy are finally going to get married."

Minato, Hoshiko's baby brother, turned his head in his sleep. Hoshiko pretended that it was his way for saying he couldn't wait!

-:-

Kakashi walked about his home collecting various items to take with him to the Uchiha compound. They were currently in somewhat of a grace period for both Kakashi and Sasuke to adjust to the child. It wouldn't be to long from now though that it would just be the baby and Kakashi with Sasuke forcefully ripped from the picture.

In truth, Kakashi wasn't so sure he was ready for the small child to enter his life. Iruka had offered to assist in the childcare and Kakashi had accepted with much gratitude, but watching over something so small and helpless still made the Jounin anxious. Academy students were one thing. They were already preteens by the time they came into his care. And sometimes he could barely keep up with them. An infant however…that was another story.

Kakashi sighed for the umpteenth as he finished collecting all the items he needed: a bottle, wipes, diapers, receiving blanket, and other items all packed away in a baby bag. 'That should be it.'

The journey the estate was short, yet nothing seemed to short about it to Kakashi as he approached it and made his presences known. A knock on the door signaled his arrival and the opening of said door was his only welcome. He stepped inside and faced a very cranky-looking woman and three sleep-deprived men. What a pleasant sight this was…

"Hello," Kakashi greeted with his usual smile and wave. The irritation on the woman's face grew.

"You're late."

"Sorry, you see-"

"Don't bother with excuses, eh. You'll only dig yourself a deeper hole," Suigetsu said and Kakashi decide to follow the advice. The Jounin stepped deeper into the building and walked over the Sasuke, who was currently holding the infant.

"Hello, Sasuke." Kakashi smiled Sasuke remained impassive.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Kakashi asked, trying to make conversation. Sasuke nodded.

"So…may I ask what it is?" the Jounin asked after a moment of silence.

"Obito," Sasuke muttered. Kakashi's eyes widened. He certainly was not expecting this. "Obito…" He hadn't uttered that name in some time.

Sasuke smirked. "Like it?" He named the boy that just to irritate Kakashi, but even if it had, Kakashi would never show it.

"No, it's perfect for him. Looks just like Obito did," Kakashi replied truthfully. The child was almost an exact clone of his deceased friend aside from the hair tone. It was lighter, a brown so dark that one could almost mistake it as black.

Sasuke scowled. He thought the name would upset Kakashi, maybe upset him into not being able to care for the child, leaving the only option of him to care for it. And of course, Sasuke had forgotten that Naruto would be the next option had Kakashi ever thought of stepping down from this responsibility.

"Sasuke, Obito and I have to go now and spend some quality time together," Kakashi said, lifting the infant out of its bearer's grasp.

"We'll see you later." He smiled and turned to leave with the Obito.

Sasuke glared as the other walked out of the door. The room was silent and while silence was what he has been waiting for all day, he couldn't help but find it lonely…suffocating, even.

He looked down at his arms.

They felt cold without Obito in them.

-:-

_One Month Later_

It was official.

Sasuke was hereby forbidden from the seeing Obito and Kakashi, who was now his prime caretaker. It took a lot of adjusting, but both Kakashi and Obito were comfortably settled together. Naruto visited often with his family, for it didn't seem right to not visit just because he was Sasuke's child. It was difficult sometimes; the things that Sasuke had done to both him and Sai for the past few years were reflected in that child. Naruto love Obito unconditionally, but in his opinion, it was best that he stayed with Kakashi.

However, they never once dared to exclude Obito. Sai had welcomed the little fellow with opens arms from day one. He had become like his second son. Any outing was not complete without Obito and Kakashi. The six of them were inseparable.

As for Sasuke, no one had heard from him in a long time. Occasionally, they would catch a glimpse of him in the market place, but even that was a rare occurrence. The Uchiha stuck to the shadows, more often sending his lackeys into town. There wasn't much concern however. As long as ex-missing ninja stayed out of trouble, he was alright with Konoha.

_Three years later_

"No fair!" Hoshiko laughed at the two toddlers as they tried to catch her in a game of 'ninja' tag.

"It's not my fault you two aren't fast!" Hoshiko called back to Minato and Obito. They both groaned and resumed their quest of trying to capture the human cheetah, who was currently prospering.

From the window, Sai smiled. His and Naruto's children always made him smile no matter what kind of shenanigans they got into. In fact, it was Naruto who had to take on the role of disciplinarian since Sai had too much of a soft spot for those puppy dog eyes.

"Sai, come here for a second." Naruto called from the next room and Sai turned from the window to join Naruto, Kakashi, and Iruka in the next room.

Since Obito became Kakashi's responsibility, Iruka had been around helping him every step of the way. His experience with the academy students as well as with Kurenai's daughter made him the perfect person for Kakashi to learn from and have around to guide him through parenting. Of course, parenting wasn't the only thing Iruka was helping Kakashi do. When they weren't watching children, or arguing over something trivial, Kakashi was teaching Iruka how much of a pervert he could really be.

Though the couple seemed to not get along on the outside, they were great role models for Obito. When the child wasn't learning with his birth father Naruto, he was learning important life lessons with his foster parents.

"Sai, how have you been?" Kakashi said with a smile in his eye. Sai smiled in return and replied with an honest answer.

"My feet ache, a bee stung me yesterday, and I'm honestly still tired because last night Naruto-"

"Sai!" Naruto interrupted. Kakashi laughed beneath his mask and Iruka's cheeks flushed a rosy pink.

"You don't have to go into detail!" Naruto sighed, facepalming himself. "That's not why we called you in here though." The blonde's tone became serious. "Sasuke and his team have gone missing. AWOL." Sai's smiling face fell. He glanced at the children outside. Knowing that they were not safe out there suddenly made him worry.

"You don't think…?" He was sure Naruto and others knew what he was implying.

"We aren't sure, but most likely not." Kakashi said. "Yes, Sasuke is spiteful at times but he isn't dumb. He knows it is best for Obito here and though he may seem like a coldhearted man, he will do what is best for his remaining family." Naruto and Sai agreed after a moment of thinking. Naruto concurred after taking a look back on his earlier missions with Sasuke and the old team seven. The other was indeed a protector when he wasn't obsessed with revenge or trying to prove himself better than Naruto.

Sai also agreed. Though he had experienced a shorter amount of time the other's presence, Sasuke had the air of someone who seek to protect the ones he loved and cared for. He simply took it to possessive extremes.

"You're right." He admitted and looked outside at the smiling faces of the children. Sasuke wouldn't do anything to hurt them.

"That's not all of the news Sai." Naruto said and smiled at his lover.

"What else is there to tell?" Anything other than the news concerning Sasuke couldn't possibly be news. Konoha had become quite uneventful these last few weeks.

Naruto stood and glanced into the other's eyes. His gaze was once again serious but not dire like it was during the news of his once friend gone enemy.

"Naruto?"

"We've been…engaged for years now Sai. _Years_. I think it's finally time to….make it official." Naruto smiled, chuckling like he did when he was nervous. Sai remained unresponsive for a number of moments.

_This moment…__**THIS**__moment…_He bore into the eyes of his lover.

"...I've been waiting." Sai spoke with a small smile on his face. The smile on Naruto's face grew larger than Sai thought possible. Sai looked over at his sensei's faces, which also appeared to be delighted.

"I love you, Sai."

Sai smiled and wrapped his arms around his lover. "I love you as well…my dickless."

-:-

The wedding had been simple and sweet. Naruto convinced Tsunade to be the one to marry them and Sai convinced Danzo to attend. The entire Rookie 8 was there, as were Gaara and his siblings and Team Gai. Iruka took the time out to attend and so did Konohamaru and his team. Though the gathering was small, it was a crowd to the newlyweds. Their family was there and that was all that mattered.

Naruto stood by the podium as he waited for his "bride" to walk down the aisle. His nerves were getting the best of him. He shook like a leaf up against the wind of a typhoon. "Stop shaking so much," Tsunade told the man. "You look weak." Naruto glared in response. He couldn't help it. He was excited, but also a bit scared. He knew them being officially married wouldn't make much of a difference in their lives. They had lived like a married couple for years now. But something about being able to call Sai his husband…it made Naruto scared. He was afraid of ever losing that privilege.

Sai, meanwhile, was also having a bit of a nervous breakdown. Of course, in Sai terms, this meant he was simply exhibiting normal nervous behavior. The girls who were helping him dress in the formal kimono told him not to worry so much.

"Naruto loves you, Sai. Don't worry. You two know you are meant for each other, so stop worrying!" Ino said and added a comb to Sai's hair.

Sai looked at himself in the mirror. "I look like a woman."

Sakura hit him in playful manner. "Sai, you've always looked feminine. Hell, your hips are the envy of the women in Konoha." Sai mocked a shock expression. He felt better after being reassured that being legally married wouldn't change his and Naruto's personal life much.

"Thank you Ino, Sakura." He nodded. "I think I'm ready now."

-:-

The couple wed happily. Many tears and cries of happiest roared throughout the small hall when the coupled shared their first kiss after their union.

After a small reception the couple managed to persuade Kakashi and Iruka to take the kids for the night. The two decided to do what most newlywed couples did on their wedding night and make love to each other until they couldn't any longer. It was nearly dawn before they finally ceased their actions and got any sleep.

-:-

_Six Years Later_

Kakashi yawned as he stepped out of bed and made his way down to the living room and out the front door to check the mail. He didn't think anything important had come through, and as always, his suspicions were correct. Most of it was junk. However, there was one piece of mail that woke Kakashi up completely. On the envelope read the name "Obito" and nothing more. Kakashi knew who the letter was from instantly. He debated on whether he should throw the letter out or let his son receive the letter. He decided on the latter and went to deliver the message to Obito.

"Hey, you've got a letter." Kakashi handed the envelope to the twelve-year-old. The boy raised a brow and gently took the letter from Kakashi.

"Who's it from?" he asked and began to open the letter. Kakashi didn't respond. He simply watched the boy open the letter.

Inside were a couple of pieces of paper, all black except one which read "_To Obito"_. Obito gave the paper a curious look before opening. Out of the letter fell a necklace in the shape of a fan. A red and white fan. It took him only a second to realize what it was and who it had to be from.

Kakashi watched as Obito's face fell. His expression became unreadable, much like Sasuke's used to when he plotted revenge against Itachi. Kakashi opened his mouth to say something when suddenly Obito smiled.

"Kakashi-otou-san? Can you help me with this?" He held the necklace to his neck, motioning for his dad to help him put it on. Kakashi nodded. He was shocked, and proud of Obito. He knew the boy was hurt when he found out about how he came to be, about Sasuke only having him to use Naruto to restore his clan. But Obito forgave the man. Kakashi's mind flickered back to what his adopted son had told him and Naruto when he'd fully digested everything. _He is my mother. I know what he did was wrong, but…I wouldn't be here if he didn't. I couldn't hate him even if I wanted to._

Kakashi fastened the clasp of the necklace around Obito's neck. Obito turned to face Kakashi and smiled.

"I like it…I'm glad he thought of me." Kakashi smiled back and pulled the boy into a hug. "I'm proud of you." Obito laughed and playfully pushed Kakashi away.

"Oh, don't get all sappy on me old man!" Kakashi smirked.

"You don't have to worry about that. You get enough of that from Naruto." Obito grinned like his father.

"Speaking of him, I wanna go show off my necklace. Let's go pay him a visit." Kakashi sighed and shook his head in an affectionate manner. "Seriously, you _are_ his kid." He spoke and left to get ready to leave.

Obito waited for Kakashi to return near the window of the living room. He looked out towards the forest and searched like he did often when he was younger. He knew, somewhere, that Sasuke was watching him. He might not have been the ideal parent, but Obito knew that the supposedly coldhearted man cared for him.

"Thank you, mom." He spoke softly to the forest, hoping Sasuke could hear him. He turned away from the window when Kakashi called his name. Somewhere, in the back of Obito's mind, he knew his mother was saying "you're welcome, son". And that was all it took for Obito's grin to rival his birth father's.

-:-

And that is the end! Thank you for the support and all that reviews and reads. I love you all!


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